Next Generation Chronicles
by Piggwidgeon
Summary: Primarily about Potter kids and Teddy. Original intention to have each chapter stand alone but also a part of the bigger picture. Forgive my mistakes, please. Updating has stopped for now.
1. Slytherin?

**Disclaimer: I do not own it. **

"Potter, Lily!" Professor Wolfe boomed across the Great Hall.

James sat on the edge of his seat as his sister made his way up to the stool. Her face was white, paler than Al's had been two years before, but James was confident. He knew Lily belonged in Gryffindor with him, just like he knew Al would be in Ravenclaw. Grinning, he stood up as Wolfe put the sorting hat on her head.

It didn't give an answer immediately, like it did for him and Al. Did it not know where she belonged? No, that was impossible. She was a Gryffindor -- brave, courageous, witty, and what she lacked in magical prowess, she more than made up for it in ingenuity. Gryffindor was where she belonged, no contest.

"What's going on?" Fred whispered in his ear. "Why isn't she being sorted?"

James bit his lip and stared at Lily. She had gotten paler, if at all possible, and she was fidgeting. Why was she so nervous? James caught her eye and she looked away.

"Slytherin!"

"What?" Fred yelled. "How can she be in Slytherin? She's the least Slytherin person in the whole family!"

James was the only one who could hear his vehement cousin. Everything else was drowned out by the hoopla at the Slytherin table. Lily took off the hat and looked like she was going to vomit. She stumbled toward the Slytherin table and was embraced by some of the seventh years.

They had gotten Potter.

3

Lily stared at the green tablecloth. This wasn't right. It shouldn't be green. It should be scarlet. It shouldn't be silver. It should be gold. It shouldn't be a serpent. It should be a lion.

"Hey, I'm Tad," another first year said, offering his hand. Lily looked over at him. She took his hand without thinking.

"Lily," she said.

"I've been told this place is astounding," Tad said, tilting his blond head to look at the ceiling. "But I never realized quite how astounding."

"At least you had some warning," a girl across from them said, "I had no idea what to expect."

"Muggle born?" Tad asked.

"What?" she replied.

"Your parents -- they aren't magical."

"Oh, no, not at all. They nearly died when Professor Longbottom took us to Diagon Alley. I'm Kelsie, by the way. So what's with the houses?"

"Four houses -- Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, which is clearly the best," Tad said with a slightly condescending tone. "Slytherin and Gryffindor are always competing against each other and no one really likes Slytherin, but that's just because we've won twelve of the last twenty house cups. The rest were split between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."

"House cup?"

"You get house points," Tad said, pointing to the hourglasses on the far wall. "Right now, we're all at zero, but they'll increase as the year goes on."

"I'm starving," Kelsie muttered, picking up her empty plate. "When do we get to eat?"

"After the Headmistress makes an address," Lily said. As she spoke, McGonnagall stood up.

"Hello and welcome back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am obliged to inform you all products from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes are banned from the school, as are most joke products. You can see the complete list posted in all common rooms. As usual the Forbidden Forest is off limits.

"This year, the staff hopes to encourage intellectual and magical development in the safe environment of Hogwarts. Enjoy."

She flicked her wand and food appeared on the trays in front of them.

"Holy crap!" Kelsie said, reaching out and grabbing one of the rolls. "How are we supposed to eat so much food?"

"One bite at a time," Tad said, shoveling a healthy forkful of potato into his mouth.

3

"I can't believe Lily is in Slytherin," Teddy said, settling on the Gryffindor couch next to Victoire.

"Well, you'd better believe it or you're going to have some problems real fast," she replied. "And you might want to talk with James about it." Vicky motioned to the pocket of fourth-years, James at the center, who were already getting riled up about the Quidditch season and how they're going to crush Slytherin.

"Maybe," Teddy sighed, "but I need to think about the NEWTs this year, too. I should probably start studying soon."

"But you won't, at least not until Quidditch starts up."

"Just because you started studying for the OWLs your fourth year doesn't mean anything. You still did just as well as I did."

"Because I helped you study."

"Should we try and get these kids to bed?"

"We need to wait for Professor Longbottom to address us."

"Ah, yes, that's true." Teddy stretched his arm around Vicky.

"Teddy!" James yelled across the common room. "When are we going to start Quidditch practice?"

"What do you want from me, Jim? My stomach's full and my head is clouded. Talk to me next week," Teddy replied.

"I want to try out this year, though!"

"Didn't I already tell you we need a seeker this year? You're still small enough for that position. Now leave me alone."

The door to the common room swung open and Professor Longbottom entered, hitting his head as usual on the low entryway.

"Hello, everyone," he said, rubbing his head. "And welcome back. For those of you who are new to Gryffindor, I am Professor Longbottom, Gryffindor's head professor. I will give you your punishments and I won't go easy. The list of banned items is on the board. We'll also post Quidditch schedule there, and your class schedules will be on your beds. Prefects, if you could round everyone up and put them in their rooms, please. I look forward to a brilliant year with you. Any questions, you can direct them to the prefects. Thank you."

Professor Longbottom left the common room, hitting his head against the door jam again. Some of the first years snickered. Teddy pulled himself off the couch, as the Headboy, and started corralling the students to their rooms. Vicky followed suit as a prefect.

3

Lily wasn't sure whether she should be enthralled or disgusted. Sure, she was a Slytherin. No one else in her family had ever been in Slytherin. In fact, both her brothers absolutely loathed Slytherins. Christmas break probably would not be fun. But this common room was astounding. The leather couches were extraordinarily comfortable and the green blankets laid across their back were all really soft. The rugs on the floor covering the stone were regal and the fire was warm. It was dark, but comfortable. Cold, but welcoming. She doubted anything could compete with this -- not even the Gryffindor common room.

They had set the first years down on one of the couches, where the prefects had told them to wait for Professor Wolfe.

At first, Wolfe seemed to be a rather rough man. His graying beard and hair gave him a coarse look, but when he walked into the Slytherin common room with a bag slung across his shoulders and a stack of papers in his hands, Lily warmed up to him. He didn't say anything, just gave the stack of papers to his prefects, and sat in a stool in front of the first years.

"Well, guys, this is Slytherin," he said. His voice was soft, warm, and gentle. He didn't seem to be the harsh, hard man James made him out to be. Then again, most of the Slytherins she had met so far hadn't been nearly as bad as he claimed they were. He took out ten pieces of parchment out of his bag. "These are your schedules; they're all the same, so don't get picky." He passed them out to each of the first years. "So I'm Professor Gaius Wolfe. Take a look at your schedules. The first few weeks the professors will show you around and then you're on your own, so pay attention to where you're going at all times. The castle has a few tricks up her sleeves, so always be on the lookout. I won't spoil many surprises for you.

"The board above the fireplace has all the house information on it, from the list of banned items to announcements to Quidditch schedules. You can't play Quidditch until second year, but they might take you on as equipment manager."

"Why is that?" Jones asked, flipping his long brown hair out of his face.

"We don't want our first years to get throttled by a seventh year behind a bludger's bat. Besides, it's hard enough getting used to the castle without worrying about Quidditch, too."

"What if we're really good?" Andrew asked.

"You'll be an asset to the team next year. Right now, most of the team is seventh-years, so next year we'll need two chasers, a beater, and a keeper -- just to give you a heads up. Any immediate questions?"

"Where's the bathroom?" Beecher asked.

"Down the hall to the left. There are showers there, too. Anything else?"

All they could hear were the older students making all sorts of noises in their dorms.

"Alright, girls Barbara will show you your dormitories, boys, you're with Robert. I think you'll all like it here." Grinning, Professor Wolfe stood up and left his house alone.

3

"'Oy, Al, are you going to try out for Quidditch this year?" Ike asked, opening a book.

"Nah, I don't think so," Al replied, pulling out his cauldron. It figures his first class of the day would be potions.

"Why not? From what I hear you're an amazing seeker, and with Greg just graduated..."

"I think Jim would get mad at me."

"What? Why?" Ike asked.

"Quidditch is his thing, it always has. Besides, I don't like it that much."

"Why do you go out of your way not to step on Jim's toes? It isn't like he's never stepped on yours."

"But still...I don't know. It isn't worth it. Besides, I'm not that great of a seeker."

"A chaser, then."

"I definitely couldn't do that."

"What about a beater? A whole bunch of our team graduated. It isn't like anyone expects the Ravenclaw team to amount to anything this year -- it's a building year, no pressure."

"Are you trying out?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm going to be the best keeper Ravenclaw has ever seen!" Ike punched the air in mock victory.

"You look like you belong in Hufflepuff when you do that," Al said.

"Well if you'd stop sulking like a spoiled little Slytherin brat, then I wouldn't have to."

"Alright, boys, enough mocking my house," Professor Wolfe said, taking his podium at the front of the class. "Three points from Ravenclaw. Now, if you will, turn to page 35 of your book and proceed with caution. You may leave when you're finished."

"Nice going, we've already lost points because of you," Al muttered, opening his book.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ike replied.

3

Teddy was shocked at how quickly the first few weeks of classes went by. And he was shocked with how much work the professors were loading on them. For the first time in all his years at Hogwarts, he was actually spending more time on work than Vicky, and that annoyed him.

Quidditch snuck up on him and attacked him when he wasn't ready, not because of his energetic cousins. James had been pestering him since the first week and the second week Fred joined in. By the third week, Vicky was on his back and Rose was getting ready to join in the fun. Sometimes he wondered if he could just have a Weasley/Potter team. They'd probably do pretty well; they practice together all summer after all. But they don't have a keeper or seeker -- they'd been sorted into Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

"When are you going to tell us who made the team?" James whined.

"Shut up, Jim."

Teddy was short on sleep, still acclimating to sleeping in the same room as Quinn, who snored louder than his grandmother had. He had looked at his roster and had decided he needed a second round of tryouts. His definites were Fred as beater, he was a chaser, Jerry could still do keeping, and Vicky was a chaser. He needed another chaser, a beater, and a seeker. Little Tim could probably do seeking, although it depended on his eyesight. James wouldn't be able to do it. He seemed to be a competent beater, though, and he worked well with Fred. Any number of people could be the new chaser. He'd have to have a practice just with them.

He took out a piece of parchment and made a quick Quidditch notice to post on the board in the common room, calling all his potential chasers back to the pitch for a Saturday practice. Teddy hated Saturday practices.

3

Lily stared at the fire crackling in the Slytherin common room. She had finished her homework and was waiting for Tad and Kelsie. They had been invited on a midnight escapade to the kitchens with the seventh-years. They had been told it was an annual event; the seventh years always treated the first years.

"How long have you been done for?" Tad asked, bursting into the common room with an armful of books.

"Awhile," Lily answered.

"How'd it go?"

"Good."

In truth, she had asked one of the older students to help her master a spell, but it ended badly and she had to bring him to the hospital wing. She felt badly about it, so she didn't bring it up.

"I'll be right down, I just need to drop these off in my room," Tad said, disappearing down one of the tunnels.

"Oh my god," Kelsie groaned, sprawling on the couch next to Lily. "Why does history of magic make my head throb so much?"

"Because you're better at practical application," Lily replied nonchalantly. It was true, Kelsie was the one best at spells, Tad the best at everything else, and Lily was somewhere a kilometer or so behind them. It seemed she could never get a spell right no matter how much she practiced and she had already ruined three cauldrons. Her parents were beginning to get angry with her. James had already mocked her: If you can't do potions, why are you in Slytherin? Just thinking about it made her dread the coming vacation. She couldn't imagine what the holiday was going to be like.

The other first years congregated in the common room and waited for the seventh years. Lily still couldn't figure out what James meant by complaining about them. She had never seen a Slytherin initiate a fight, nor seen any feuds among the Slytherin. A few fights had begun between Slytherin and Gryffindor because Gryffindor insists that James is the only true Potter. Naturally, the Slytherins refute that. The Ravenclaws stay out of it.

Lily knew she was different than her brothers; even the sorting hat had said so -- that's why she wasn't in Gryffindor with James. At times, she would wonder what made her so different. So far, the only difference seemed to be that she couldn't levitate a feather, never mind transfigure her cat into something interesting.

"Alright, first years," one of the prefects said. "We'll guard the way so no one will catch you. Follow the seventh years, they know how this is done, ok?"

The first years nodded in agreement.

"You'll leave fifteen minutes after us, so we have enough time to clear the way."

The six prefects left the common room to secure the path. The seventh years anxiously stared at the clock above the entranceway. Fifteen minutes to go.

3

"Teddy, there isn't one time in all the time I've known you that you would rather stay in the library and study rather than go to Honeydukes or the Three Broomsticks. What's wrong with you?" Vicky asked, playfully slapping his arm.

"I need to study for the NEWTs," he replied, getting up with a massive tome.

"Teddy..."

"Vicky, I'm sorry I can't go, but I have to stay here."

"It's still the beginning of the year, you can miss one day."

"I'm behind in divination."

"Why are you taking that for your NEWT?"

"It'll give me an edge."

"You aren't a seer."

"But I can learn to interpret signs, which is what I'm trying to do, and it's going to take a very long time to learn."

"Then why didn't you start last year?"

"Last year I went to Hogsmeade. I know you're disappointed, and I really am sorry. Why don't you go and hang out with Laura and Mitchell?"

"And what? Watch them snog all afternoon?"

"I want you to go."

"Then come with me!"

"I need to study!"

"Fine! Forget it, see if I care!"

"Vicky..."

"Teddy...you didn't remember, did you?"

"Remember what?"

Vicky shook her head and left him alone in the library. Fine, if he was going to be like that, there was nothing she could do to stop him. Damn him, damn their anniversary, damn the NEWTs. She would go to Hogsmeade without him, lead the third-years around and show them the sights. She would deal with Teddy later, in the practice room.

3

For the first time in her life, Lily didn't know who to root for. Kelsie and Tad insisted that she root for Slytherin; it was her house, after all, and chances are some of the older students would never let her live it down if she cheered for Gryffindor. Then again, half of the Gryffindor team was her family -- Teddy, Vicky, Fred, and James she had all known for her entire life. The Slytherin team had been good to her -- even going so far as to let her practice with them when their keeper was out with the flu. Yuzi -- next year's captain -- had already promised her the keeper position for next year. But the Gryffindors had her blood...she had to get Vicky's opinion.

Lily looked up and down the Gryffindor table. She was sitting with two Gryffindors Lily didn't know. Quickly, she approached the Gryffindors and sat next to Vicky.

"I can't believe they're actually letting Yuzi play," one of the Gryffindors said, "especially after he nearly killed Professor Longbottom."

"He served his detentions, it's their call," the other said.

"Why is there a Slytherin sitting next to you?" the first one said.

"This is Lily, my cousin. Lily, this is Laura and Mitchell," Vicky said.

"I thought you'd be taller," Lily admitted. She had only heard about how Mitchell kept stuffing Teddy in muggle basketball outside. Teddy wasn't a short person, so she thought Mitchell would be taller than Teddy. But he wasn't.

"Umm...coming from a scrawny first-year, I don't appreciate that," Mitchell said defensively, crossing his arms.

"Lily, watch it. What do you need?"

"Well...I...umm..."

"What is it?"

"I don't know who to root for at the game." She could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Gryffindor," Laura said quickly.

"I agree," Mitchell consented.

"I didn't ask you," Lily said sharply. Vicky started laughing.

"Don't listen to them, Lily; House always trumps blood," Vicky said.

"Always?"

"Unless you're at home. At Hogwarts, it does. Just don't take your house home. You know? It could get really messy between you and Jim and even Al could get in on the action, but he'd probably just read a book."

"So I should go for Slytherin?"

"As much as it pains me to say so," Vicky said.

"You're killing me, Frenchie," Mitchell said, grasping his chest in mock-pain.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've done that before," Vicky said, brushing his comment away.

"Thanks," Lily said, hugging her cousin before running off.

It was solved, then; she would wear her green sweater Grandma Weasley made her instead of her mother's red one.

3

Teddy let the water run over his bare back. He had forgone the regality of the prefect bathroom for the simplicity of a shower. He didn't deserve a bath.

How could he score nothing? Against Slytherin? He hit his head against the wall. How had he slipped up so much?

"Teddy? Are you in here?"

It was James.

"What do you want, James?"

"I'm sorry for knocking Vicky off her broom, and for not protecting Timmy as much as I should have."

"Don't worry about it, James."

"I feel bad about it, though."

"It isn't your fault we lost the match."

"But...still...I contributed."

"James, shut up! It wasn't your fault! If it was anyone's it was mine!"

All he could hear was the running water pattering against the floor.

"Alright," James said softly.

Why did he have to be so harsh with him? Why did he suck so badly today? He was forgetting something. His team was falling apart -- Vicky in the infirmary, Timmy struggling to get over a broken shoulder...and he trying to focus on what had to be done. His work, his NEWTs, his Quidditch, his Headboy duties...all of it weighed heavily on him.

He rinsed the soap off of his body.

3

"Ike, have you seen my transfiguration book around?" Al asked.

"Pshaw, no, why would I keep track of your stuff? I have trouble figuring out where my own stuff is." Ike looked around the room for a second. "You'd think a group of kids supposed to be the smartest in the school could keep their room clean."

"No way," Al said, picking his way over a stack of books, a pile of clothes, and a mess of papers. "We're smart, not tidy. So long as we do our work and keep our grades up, we'll be fine. But I need that book. Can I borrow yours?"

"I need to work on my own homework. Do you think Cara would have one you can borrow?"

"I doubt it. Last time I asked her, she looked at me like I had three and half heads. She won't let her books out of her sight." Al flopped down on his bed. "I really need to get organized."

"So what are you doing for vacation?" Ike asked, sitting on his own bed.

"Going home. I don't really want to. I can only imagine the fireworks James is going to set off because we have a Slytherin in the family, now."

"Do you even know why Lily is in Slytherin?"

"No, it doesn't really matter to me. I mean, I would have preferred it for her to be in Gryffindor, a better environment and stuff, but she'll be fine in Slytherin. I've seen her talking with Vicky and stuff, so I know that she's still getting the support outside of the Slytherins. So...yeah."

"Are you happy in Ravenclaw?" Ike looked over at Al expectantly.

"I suppose so."

"You don't know for sure?"

"Well, sometimes I wonder how it would have been if I was in Gryffindor with James. He kind of looks down on me now, and I don't like that. I take it you like it?"

"There isn't any other house I could picture myself in."

"I'm going to see if the library has a spare copy," Al said.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Al grabbed his bag off the end of his bed and meandered through the hallways. He had to do something about his disorganization.

3

Lily grabbed her books and shoved them in her bag. She'd leave her locked trunk at school over the vacation. The Burrow had most of her clothes, and all she had to worry about was school work.

"Are you going home?" Lily asked Kelsie. She hadn't packed anything, yet, but she had it all spread out on her bed.

"I think so, but I like it better here," Kelsie, her voice low, said.

"Why wouldn't you want to go home?"

"It's just...never mind, it isn't important."

"Alright." Lily let the topic drop, not sure what to say. "Do you need any help packing?"

"No, I'll manage."

"Ok, I need to talk to Jim and see when we're leaving."

"Have a good vacation if I don't see you again."

"You, too."

3

Teddy stared at the train, waiting to get on. Vicky stood next to him. Neither said anything. The only thing Teddy could think about was how the team wouldn't be able to practice for a week and then when they came back, they had a game that week. And the team was still recovering from the crushing Slytherin defeat. And all week, he would be staring at a Slytherin.

He took a deep breath and followed Vicky onto the train. She entered the prefect cabin and he followed. Nodding to the others, he took his seat next to Vicky.

"What's wrong, Teddy?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

"We aren't going to be able to practice for a week."

"Teddy, it's Christmas break. Give it a rest."

"Slytherin beat us! That hasn't happened in all the years I've been on the team. Ravenclaw, sure, Hufflepuff, once, but Slytherin? Never! It's unacceptable!"

"Tell you what, Teddy, how about you practice outside in the freezing cold. I'm sure at least Jim will accommodate your ridiculous needs."

"What? You won't practice?"

"It's Christmas break! At home, with my parents!"

"Why won't you practice?"

"Teddy, sometimes you make me infuriated."

Teddy looked at her, confused, and saw the anger rise in her eyes.

"I can't believe you think I'd play a game with you rather than be with my family," Vicky snapped.

"Why are you angry with me?"

"Why am I angry? For the past three months you've refused to consider anything but Quidditch or school work. You haven't even listened whenever I tried to talk with you and you didn't participate in any house events! Something's changed in you, and I'm not sure it's for the better."

"So it's my fault I'm trying to become more responsible?"

"There's a difference between trying to change and forgetting who you are. I think you've forgotten who you are, Teddy."

"What are you talking about?"

"Forget it, then! It isn't like you listen to anything I say, anyway!"

Vicky stood up and left the cabin, leaving Teddy completely confused, irate, and with a group of interested prefects.

3

"Why are you wearing green, Lily?" James asked.

"Umm...I dunno, why are you wearing red, James?" Lily replied, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"I'm not letting you get in the car with that on."

"Stop being such a baby, James," Lily said, pushing through the crowd in an effort to get

to the platform.

"You're one to talk."

"What? Just because I'm the youngest?"

"Will you two stop? There's mum and dad," Al said, diverging from the pair.

"Hello mum!" Lily yelled, waving her hand. Their mother smiled and waved her own hand, beckoning them to hurry.

"We're taking everyone back to the Burrow," their father said, "so if you see any of your cousins, let them know to come this way."

"So long as I don't have to sit next to Teddy," Vicky said irately, taking her position next to Lily.

"Fine with me," Teddy said, standing on the other side of James.

"We'll let you figure out the seating position. Where're Rose and Fred?"

"Right here," the two said, coming up behind the rest of them.

"Alright, everyone have their stuff?" Ginny asked.

"Yep, damn us if we don't."

"Fred, watch your language," Harry said sternly.

"What about Eustice, Andrea, Tanya, and little George?" Ginny asked.

"Eustice has to stay at Hogwarts. Andrea and Tanya are both going to the Longbottom

house for a couple of days. George is...right there!" Teddy said, pointing through the crowd at the tallest, most red haired kid in the crowd.

"Georgie!" Vicky yelled over the crowd. "Get over here!"

James glanced at her, shocked at how loud she was being. She was angry, the faint red fire stirring in eyes, a result of her veela blood.

"Teddy, what did you do to Vicky?" James whispered.

"Shut up, Jim."

"Alright, let's go," George said, clapping James on the back.

"Really? You determine when we stay and when we go?" Harry asked.

"Uncle Harry, really, I want to get home," Vicky said tersely.

"Alright, alright," Harry said. "Come on, get in the car."

The group left the platform and piled into Harry's car.

3

Lily stared at her room in the Burrow. She had been told multiple times that she had her mother's old room, but it looked much different. Rather than the posters of the latest band, she had her uncle's old Chudley Cannon gear -- refurbished to her liking, of course. All of it was really valuable since they had revamped their team.

It was good to be home.

"Lily, it's time for dinner!" her grandmother yelled up the stairs. She pulled her Chudley Cannons sweatshirt on and ran down the stairs. The others were already seated at the table -- the silent Teddy and Vicky, Fred and little George conspiring together, all of her mother's brothers and their wives laughing and swapping all sorts of stories.

"How do you like Hogwarts, Lily?"

"I love it, although I'm pretty bad at most of the magic part."

"Yeah, she burned through three cauldrons and she's a Slytherin, supposedly some of the best potion makers," James laughed.

"Hey, James, don't make fun of your sister," their mum said sharply. "She's doing the best she can."

"At least my Quidditch team didn't get crushed," Lily muttered.

"What was that?" James demanded.

"Lily, don't bring that up," Vicky said loudly.

"She said something about that match, didn't she?" Teddy yelled from across the room.

"Great, now we're in for this for the rest of vacation?" Al said.

"Oh, come on, did you really expect to beat us? The Slytherin team is the strongest it's

been in decades!" Lily stood up in defense of her point.

"The only reason we lost is because half of our players have never played before!" Teddy declared.

"You had already played the other houses and won!" Lily replied.

"Both of you, stop it! You leave Hogwarts at Hogwarts. James and Teddy, you know that; Lily, I didn't think I would have to explain that to you," their mum snapped. "If I hear one more insult geared towards houses this vacation, you do not want to know what will happen to you! Do you understand?"

"Sure," Lily said haphazardly.

Aunt Fleur put all of the food on the table with a wave of her wand and they began to eat.

3

Teddy stared at the pages of his book. He needed to memorize the dates of the Goblin Rebellion. Even after seven years of hearing about it, he still couldn't remember the dates. Everyone has a weakness and his was dates.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around his stark room. Last summer he had moved in with Ginny and Harry. It had been fun, but it wasn't the same as living with his grandmother. It was hard to study, too. Lily was above him and he could always hear her music blaring through the walls. Al was next to him and he was pretty quiet, but when James got riled up, he would throw a ball against his wall, making quite a racket in Teddy's room. He thought about asking to move into the attic, but it was thoroughly used for storage and it would be too much work to clean it out. So he stayed in his room.

A part of him wished he had personalized his room more. All he had done was throw his red bedspread over his mattress and put a picture of him and his grandmother on his desk. But this didn't feel like home. It was still a bit foreign to him. Home was his old room in his grandmother's house, the room that had been his mother's growing up, the room that had the posters and pictures plastered on the walls, the room that held the memories of his grandmother bringing him milk and cookies and little Quidditch toys.

He bowed his head to his book. His grandmother always encouraged him to become an Auror, like his mother. She had told him he looked like her a lot. The hair -- it was all in the hair. He couldn't concentrate. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he changed his hair color from turquoise to red. These funny hair colors...who could take him seriously? Who would hire him as an Auror with this hair? He let the color drain from them, to its natural brown color. Was that better? He couldn't tell. Shaking his head, he resumed his studying. Prepare for the NEWTs, that was the best use of his time if he couldn't train Quidditch.

3

"What did you do to your hair, Teddy?" Al asked casually, passing the pitcher of orange juice.

"Let it return to my natural hair color. Is it that bad?"

"No, it doesn't look bad. Just...different is all," Al said. Teddy shrugged and took his toast.

"Where's Ginny?"

"Still asleep, I guess. Why?"

"I want to go to Diagon Alley today and pick up a few things, if it's alright with her."

"Can I come?"

"If it's ok with your mum."

"Oh, hey Al," his mum said, entering the room. "Good morning, James."

Al laughed at his mum's mistake and Teddy turned around.

"My god, Teddy? Wow...I...I'm sorry. Has...has anyone ever told you you look just like

your father?" she said.

"No, I don't think so."

"Do you have a picture of him?" Al's mum started fishing through one of the drawers.

"I don't think so; most of my grandmother's photographs were burned in the fire."

"Well, here's a nice one. Hold onto it. I never realized how much of Remus you really had in you."

Al craned his neck to look at the photo. It was of his father when he was young, a man he presumed was Remus and a woman with pink hair -- obviously Tonks, Teddy's mother.

"Thanks," Teddy said, staring at the picture. "These are my parents, right?"

"Yep."

"Um...Can I take Al to Diagon Alley with me to do some Christmas shopping?" Teddy didn't take his eyes off the picture.

"Sure."

"Do you need me to get anything for you?"

"No, I'm fine. You two just stay out of trouble."

"We'll probably go this afternoon, if that's ok, Al."

"That's fine," Al said, grinning. An afternoon with Teddy...he couldn't wait.

3

It was Christmas. Lily could smell her grandmother's cinnamon buns in her room. She opened her eyes and her presents were piled on the end of her bed. Quickly, she opened them all. All of her presents were wonderful. Except for one.

Uncle Percy and Eustice had given her a nice set of quills and ink. Uncle George and his family had given her a huge package of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur had given her a massive box of chocolate. Uncle Charlie and his wife had given her a nice pair of dragonhide gloves. Uncle Ron and his family had given her a very nice journal. Vicky had given her two sets of basic potion ingredients and a basic potions book. Teddy and Al had given her a stocking full of candy. Her parents had given her a new Chudley Cannons sweatshirt. Her grandmother gave her handmade gloves and a scarf, both Slytherin green, and a chocolate cake. And, of course, James had given her a cauldron.

The last gift ruined her appetite for her candies, cakes, and her grandmother's cinnamon buns. Why did he have to do that?

3

Vicky looked at her presents laid out in front of her. They were wonderful -- perfumes, candies, the usual Weasley sweater, a couple of books, and even a new telescope. But not one of them was from Teddy. Did he forget Christmas, too?

No, he had said he was going to go in Diagon Alley. So why didn't he get her a present? Lily had said that Al went with him, but wouldn't say what he got. She had Al's present -- a cute little bobble head lion -- but where was Teddy's? She had sent Teddy's present to him -- a nice bottle of cologne. And she had nothing in return.

"Victoire!" her papa called up the stairs. "We're leaving! Hurry up!"

She put on her new sweater and jogged down the stairs.

3

Lily wanted to pull her wand on James, but she knew he would only mock her for it and she would get in trouble for it. Vicky sat between her and James, and there was no doubt she did that on purpose. Al sat on her other side, munching on his candy from Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur and a cinnamon bun in his other hand.

"You're going to get sick, Al," their mum said, shaking her head.

"Oh, let the boy eat his candy, Ginny," Uncle Bill said. "He either eats it now or gets it stolen at Hogwarts, am I right?"

"I can't keep anything from Ike," Al admitted, wiping his face on his sleeve. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Emma came into the crowded Burrow, Andrea and Tanya shortly behind them.

"Hello, Lily," they greeted, reaching down and hugging her. "How do you like Slytherin?"

"It's ok."

"Yeah, just ok," James said. "Nothing compared to Gryffindor."

"Shove it, Jim."

"Why because I'm right?"

Lily wanted to hit him, to put him in his place, to pound his face in. She jerked to get up, but Vicky restrained her. None of the adults noticed.

"Save it for Quidditch," Vicky said. Lily leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. Lily hated James right now.

3

Al was the first one on the broom and off flying around. He always forgot how much he loved flying over the fields by the Burrow, especially when they were covered in snow. It was so tranquil, peaceful, natural. He could hear James speeding behind him, his breathing rough and ragged. He wasn't so peaceful. Lily was behind him, her own movements silent. The three of them flew in a few circles until everyone but Grandma Weasley was mounted and ready to play.

Al was Keeper, even though he begged with James to be seeker. He could see Lily's disappointment when Al took his keeper position; for some reason, she always wanted the position, but never got it. He had never seen her play keeper, only chaser, and she was pretty good, matching even their mum, but James was no contest for their father. It didn't matter, though, since they were only playing for fun. He thought.

James started scouring the field for the snitch, so did their father. Al watched the chasers as they flew around and kept an eye out for any bludgers; you never knew when Uncle George would spring one on you. He was captivated by Lily; something was different about her and Vicky. They were angry, really really angry.

Lily was flying like a maniac, left, right, up, down. No one was really sure what to do with her. The other team just kept away.

Their mum had the quaffle -- or what was the quaffle -- and was flying towards Al. Lily sped up on her broom and tackled her, stealing the quaffle and passing it to Vicky. Their mum nearly fell off the broom.

"Lily!" she screamed. "What was that?"

Lily ignored her and continued on to face Uncle Ron.

"Get off the broom, Al. This is done," his mum said, spiraling toward the ground. Al landed, regretting that he couldn't show off any of his skills, and dismounted his broom. Lily was in for it.

3

Teddy threw all of his stuff in his trunk, carefully placing the photo of his parents on top. This vacation was a disaster. Of all the stupid things James has done, irritating his sister about her house was probably the stupidest. This wasn't his home.

He looked around, making sure he didn't miss anything. Nope. His room was cleared out. After checking the mirror, he slid into his shirt and went down the stairs to breakfast. Lily was sitting next to James, staring at her oatmeal. Al, too, was downcast, staring at his toast.

"I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts!" James expounded, his eyes wide. "The Gryffindors always have a party the week after vacation! It's going to be awesome. Does Slytherin have holiday parties? I bet you don't. Slytherins always act like they have a stick in their pants." He chomped down on his toast. "And the Ravenclaws are too stuck to their books to do anything fun."

Teddy wanted to go back upstairs; he could see Al becoming irritated. Lily was already beyond irritated, verging on infuriated. One of them was going to deck him. He didn't want to know which one it was.

But there were left over cinnamon buns from Christmas still on the stove...ugh.

"Good morning, Lily, Al, Jim," Teddy said, hopping down the stairs and scoffing a few cinnamon buns off the stove.

"Are you excited for the Gryffindor Christmas Party?" James asked, pointing his finger excitedly.

"I think you're getting too excited."

"Oh, come on. You know Gryffindor is the best. I mean, do other houses have parties?"

"Actually, they do," Al said. Teddy could hear his restraint.

"Really? When was the last time Ravenclaw had one?"

"We have one the first Friday for the first years."

"Hmm...Doesn't sound interesting."

"James, you don't know what you're talking about," Al said, again struggling to control his temper.

"No, I think I do."

"Shut up!" Lily shouted.

Teddy shoved his cinnamon roll in his mouth and booked it up the stairs before it got messy. He knew someone had to teach James a lesson; he just didn't want it on his head.

3

Lily stared at Al, shocked. Al's face was red, his hand fisted, and his other hand full of James's shirt.

"What did you do?" Lily screamed, pulling Al off James.

"I punched him!" Al replied, spitting on James.

Blood gushed down James's face, spouting from his nose.

"You broke his nose!" Lily said.

"No I didn't."

"What is going on down here?" their mum said, coming into the kitchen. She saw James and pulled out her wand. "Sit still." She shoved him on the chair and tapped his face with her wand. He screamed in pain, his arms struggling against his mother's binding charm.

"Who did this?" she said sternly, facing Lily and Al.

Lily glanced at Al, but kept quiet.

"Lily, I expected more from you," she said.

"It wasn't Lily," Al said, still angry. "I did it. Because he wouldn't shut up about how Gryffindor is soooo much better than all of the other houses."

"It wasn't Lily?"

"No," Al said firmly. "I did it."

"You aren't protecting her?"

"No."

"Alright, Lily go upstairs. I need to speak with these two."

"Why should I leave?"

"Lily, get out of here," her mum said louder.

Grudgingly, Lily thudded up the stairs to her room. She didn't think Al would actually do that. Sure, he had threatened it enough times, but to think of Al fighting...it was ludicrous. James certainly deserved it; he had been a jerk to Al since he was sorted and had been riding her since she was sorted.

But Al really went at it. He broke James's nose! Never in a million years had she expected that. Mindlessly, she threw her stuff in her bag and got ready to go.

3

"Not born, but from a Mother's body drawn, I hang until half of me is gone. I sleep in a cave until I grow old, then valued for my hardened gold. What am I?" the statue said.

"Can't you just let me in today?" Al said morosely, leaning against the wall. "I really don't know."

"Well, that's the riddle for now, so until you or someone else gets it, you're stuck out here."

"I hate you sometimes."

"Most students do."

Al slid against the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He was not in the mood for this. His father had yelled at him for over an hour for slugging James. He still thought James deserved it, no matter what his parents said. Lily knew he deserved, even Teddy had said he deserved it and he rarely thought violence was appropriate. When he refused to apologize, his mother yelled at him for half an hour and then his grandmother took over for a few minutes and then his Aunt Hermione had a go at it. None of them were successful. None of them understood. James wasn't bashing their house every three seconds.

"What are you doing here, Al?" Ike said, offering his hand. Al helped himself up and looked at his friend.

"Couldn't figure out the riddle."

"What is it?"

The statue reiterated the riddle.

"I heard this one before we left -- Cheese?"

"Yes, hurry up and get inside before I change my mind."

The pair of them scurried into the common room.

"So how was your vacation, Potter?" Ike asked, sliding into the dormitory.

"Terrible. My brother rode me and Lily all week."

"James?"

"Yeah -- I slugged him this morning."

"Crap, Al, I didn't think you had it in you."

"No?"

"No."

"So how was your vacation?"

"Better than yours, evidently."

"Yep."

3

Vicky stared at Teddy bowed over a book in the corner. Nothing had changed over vacation. He was still obsessed with his studies, with Quidditch, with anything but her. She knew it was selfish, that she should be concerned for him -- and she was -- but they had been dating since her third year. She couldn't imagine he would just change his priorities so rapidly. Maybe he just didn't care anymore.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Laura asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

"Nothing," Vicky replied, looking at the fire instead.

"It's Teddy, isn't it?"

"It's just...never mind...it doesn't matter."

"You need to talk to him or something."

"I know...but he's always busy."

"You need to do it."

Vicky looked back to Teddy, his brown hair flopping over his eyes and his head bowed to his book. Maybe it wasn't what she thought it was. Maybe it was just nothing at all and it was only her imagination that was playing all sorts of games on her.

3

Lily stared into the depths of her cauldron, sniffing the thin smoke rising from its surface. It smelled like flowers, which was in line with the book, but she had to keep paying attention. She might very well be wrong, but it smelled ok, so she kept putting in the ingredients the recipe called for. She glanced into Kelsie's cauldron to make sure she was on track. Kelsie's potion was clear and they were on the same step.

Damn it. She was wrong. She felt heat rise in her face. She thought she was actually doing it right this time, too. She glanced at the clock; there wasn't enough time to start over, so she just continued to make the potion as described.

"You need a bit less of eye newt, Lily," Professor Wolfe said. "It won't have any detrimental effects in the long run, but it does give it the pinkish hue here. Good work, though."

Lily looked over her shoulder at Wolfe and nodded. Phew. So there really wasn't a reason to start over. She bowed her head over her cauldron and began stirring. The fumes made her head light, but she had to make sure she was stirring at the right pace in the right direction. As it simmered, the fumes intensified. She inhaled them, not sure if it was going to be detrimental to her health or not. It was a rudimentary potion, so it couldn't be that damaging, right?

Beneath the surface of her potion, she thought she could see something stirring -- like bubbles or small pieces of goat liver. But it wasn't either of those things. They were too big and a bit more defined. One of them looked like...well, a snake, she supposed. The other like a cat, or maybe a lion. They seemed to be fighting, taken up in the bubbles of simmering, and the lion seemed to be winning. However, another piece of debris, one that almost looked like a bird, came out of nowhere and ate the lion. Then it fell back into the cauldron, leaving only the snake.

"Lily," Kelsie whispered, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lily replied, shaking off the sense of reverie she had.

She looked into her potion, now clear, and then at the clock.

"Once you bring me your samples, you are dismissed!" Professor Wolfe said. Lily dipped a vial into her cauldron, labeled it, and put it on Professor Wolfe's desk.

"Wow, Lily, I'm impressed. I think this is the best one here. Three points for Slytherin."

Lily looked at the others on the table -- some of them had various hues of color, others were foggy, one was black, but only hers was perfectly clear. Even Kelsie's had a tint of blue.

"Thank you, professor."

Lily grabbed her bag and left the room. Her next class was charms, which certainly was not going to be loads of fun.

3

Teddy stared at the pages of his history book. Why was he even taking this class? Did he really need these NEWTs? He still had muggle studies, but that was his back up in case history of magic fell through. It certainly seemed like it was going to fall through, especially if he couldn't even remember the dates of the most monumental events.

He let his head fall against his desk. Why did he put himself through this? Maybe he had had enough of history. Maybe he should look for a moment at muggle studies. He could understand this -- the way things worked in their world, the way a car moved or a refrigerator refriged. The technical stuff was easy; it was the past that got him.

"Err, Teddy, what are you doing?" Quinn asked, grabbing his muggle studies book from him.

"Ah, studying for your NEWTs, I see. Why in the world are you doing this? No one else is. It isn't like you're going to be able to memorize everything there is to memorize before the test. You should have started studying back in first year with this attitude you've developed. You're never going to be able to do it."

"I only need five -- one in Transfiguration, Defense, Charms, Potions, and either muggle studies or history of magic because those are the classes I'm taking this year."

"You're crazy, you know that, right?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, and Vicky wants to talk with you."

"What?"

"Yeah -- I don't know why. She just told me to get you because she didn't want to track you down like a hound."

"Tell her I'm in the middle of studying."

"She's going to eat me, or at least put a fireball through me, if I tell her that. She's really angry with you."

"She'll understand that I need to do this right now."

"Hey, she's your girlfriend, for now, at least."

"Whatever, Quinn. I just need to finish going over some dates."

Alright, then, see you later.

3

"To Albus Potter!" Ike screamed across the common room.

"To Albus Potter!" The Ravenclaws agreed.

They all lifted their butterbeer and clinked them together. Al laughed, inexpressibly thrilled at his success of seeker. He had caught the snitch in three minutes, one of the fastest times in Hogwarts history, to beat down Gryffindor and, at least temporarily, put Ravenclaw in first place for the house cup.

"I don't think I deserve this," Al said humbly, standing on a chair. "I think the real credit goes to our keeper, Kat, and the several saves she made while I tried to figure out where, exactly the snitch was. To Katherine Gordon!"

"To Katherine Gordon!" The Ravenclaws agreed.

They all clinked their bottles together and took a long draught.

"You're too humble, Potter!" Kat yelled across the room.

"I think you've set a Ravenclaw record, Al," Ike said energetically. He pointed to the board with all the announcements and, sure enough, there was a small blue slip of paper that announced the new Ravenclaw record. Everyone saw it and cheered again. Al just laughed, proud that he could carry on the family legacy. He had to write home to his father.

Just not now. He took a pastry off the tray one of the first years was passing around and sunk his teeth into its flaky sweetness. Tonight, he would celebrate.

3

"How could you let Al catch the snitch before you?" James yelled at Tim in the common room.

"Hey, look, if you hadn't let the bludger knock Teddy out, then we wouldn't have had that distraction!"

"It isn't my fault!"

"Shut up!" Vicky yelled across the room. A hush fell over the common room. "Teddy got knocked off his broom because he's an idiot. You didn't catch the snitch because you were worried about Teddy. And you, Jim, need to remember your place! I'm sick of you acting like you know more about stuff or like you're better than everyone else. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. I got that you're a stuck up prick," James said.

"James you do not want to fight with me tonight."

"And if I do?"

Vicky snapped out her wand and aimed it at the boy.

"I know curses that would make your insides boil."

"You'll get expelled."

She flicked her wand without muttering a spell and it felt as if hot iron belts were wrapping around James's body. He screamed and fell to the floor, writhing in pain. They seared his flesh. They restrained his movement. He couldn't escape.

She flicked her wand again and the burning bindings were gone, the pain was subsiding but still prominent.

"Do not underestimate me."

Vicky pocketed her wand and went up to the girl's dormitories.

"James, are you alright?" Rose asked, kneeling down besides him.

"Yeah," he said. His breathing was ragged and sweat dripped down the sides of his face. "I'm fine."

3

Lily paced back and forth in the corridor, her wand in her hand. How was she supposed to learn how to disarm someone in less than a week? It took her more than a month to figure out the levitating charm, never mind stupefy -- she still couldn't even get Tad to become faintly dazed. Last time she asked someone for help, they ended up in the hospital wing. She had sent Tad there twice, Kelsie three times, and various older students several times. No one would let her practice on them.

Professor Berne was going to kill her if she couldn't get this, what he said was one of the fundamentals in protecting yourself, in the next week. She didn't know what to do.

Maybe Al would help. He might have heard about all of her forays into involuntary homicide -- the Slytherins were usually really good at keeping their deviant students shrouded in mystery -- so there was hope someone from outside of the house would help her.

She slumped against the wall and stared at the high ceiling. Why did she have to be so bad all the time?

3

Teddy flipped through his potions book. Where was the page on the polyjuice potion? It didn't list it in his index, but he knew he saw it somewhere. Professor Wolfe, the bastard, had given them the assignment last night to start it. The result would count for half of their final grade.

Why did he have a different edition of the book than everyone else? He flung it across the room and ran his fingers through his hair. Did anyone in Gryffindor have the new edition? None of the seventh year Gryffindors were taking potions. The only sixth years in advanced potions were Vicky and Mitchell. Both of them were currently in transfiguration.

There was no point in him making polyjuice potion, anyway. He could transfigure into whatever he wanted without it. Professor Wolfe was just a dingbat.

"Hey, Teddy, Vicky is looking for you," Quinn said, coming into the room.

"I thought she was in Transfiguration," Teddy said.

"You've been up here all afternoon; you've missed dinner and you know the clock in here doesn't work."

"Well, what does she want with me?"

"How the hell should I know?" Quinn flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Go find out for yourself."

"Fine -- I need to figure out if I can use her potions book, anyway," Teddy said.

He pulled himself out of the chair, nearly knocking over his inkwell in the process. If Vicky wanted to talk to him, fine, he would talk with her.

"She in the common room?"

"Yeah."

Teddy thudded down the stairs to the common room; why did Vicky have to keep bothering him when he was trying to study?

3

Al looked across the room at Lily.

"Just focus on what you're trying to do, say the incantation, and flick your wand," he said. "It's easy."

"Ok."

Al stared at Lily as she said the incantation and flicked her wand. A weak stream of red slipped from the tip of her wand, but didn't make it all the way to Al, tapering out halfway across the room instead.

"I'm never going to be able to disarm anything!"

Lily slumped to the floor. Al looked at her, unsure of what to do. He wanted to help his sister, to teach how to use the spell properly, but she just couldn't do it. They'd been going at it for almost four hours. She was becoming disheartened, and that would not help her. He heard her sniffle. Was she crying? He couldn't deal with this.

"Do you want to disarm something?" he asked harshly.

"What?" She looked up at him, wiping away tears from her cheeks.

"You're acting like you don't want to. You're acting like no one could ever disarm someone."

"Al, you don't understand! I'm not nearly as good at magic as you and Jim."

"It doesn't matter."

"How does it not matter? It took me a month to figure out levitation!"

"So what? You did it, didn't you? What's different about this?"

"It's a higher level spell."

"Lily, if you're going to give up on this, you might as well go home."

Al could hear peeves in the hallway, banging on doors of uninhabited classrooms and making a general ruckus.

"Get something to eat. We've done enough today," Al said, pocketing his wand.

"No," Lily said, getting up off the floor. "I don't want to leave."

"Look, I'm hungry. I'll give you three more tries before I'm going to dinner. Just remember to focus on the goal, the wand movements, and the incantation, and you should be good."

Al watched Lily, surprised by her sudden change of demeanor. She looked fierce, as if she would kill him if he tried to leave.

"Expelliarmus!"

She flicked her wand just right, aimed it well, but the power behind it was still lacking. This frustrated Al as much as it did Lily. He had invested all morning in trying to get her to do this properly, she had all the mechanics down, but her innate ability was so little it took her hours to even get the slightest result. He knew James didn't have this problem, and he was one of the fastest learners in Ravenclaw. So why did the third Potter have so much difficulty with this?

"Expelliarmus!"

The power this time made it over three quarters of the way across the room. She was making improvement. But it still wasn't enough. Al could see Lily getting red in the face. He gripped his wand tightly, ready to block her spell but not really fully preparing. What were the odds that she would get it now?

"Expelliarmus!"

Al's wand shot from his hand.

Lily stared at Al, her face white.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"No, why? You did it! Hurry up and do it again before I change my mind." Al picked up his wand and took a few steps back.

"Expelliarmus!"

Again, his wand flew out of his hand.

"Well, it seems you have this down pretty well," Al said.

"Thanks!" Lily ran up to him and hugged him tightly before scuttling off down the hall, remembering their plan. She would go three minutes before him so as to not cause house tension. Al sat down in one of the vacant chairs. He hoped he didn't have to do this every week -- it was exhausting and time consuming.

Ah well, time for dinner.

3

Vicky burrowed her face in her pillow. Damn him. Damn their relationship. Damn the past three years. Damn it all. It didn't mean anything to him. Nothing. He threw it all away. And for what? A few extra minutes studying? She had given him everything he asked for. And she didn't even get a Christmas present.

She couldn't stop the tears flowing from her eyes, nor her throat from aching, nor her breath from catching.

Why did he have to be such a prick?

"Vicky?" Laura asked, sitting on her bed. "Are you coming down to eat?"

"I'm not hungry," Vicky replied between sobs.

"Alright."

Vicky cried herself to sleep.

3

Teddy stared at the jewelry box in his hands. Had he done something wrong? He had known he didn't give her a Christmas present; he was waiting until her birthday. And he thought their anniversary was closer to the end of the year rather than before Christmas. Then again, he was always bad with dates.

"Hey, man, heard what happened," Quinn said, sitting on the end of the bed. "What's that?"

"Her birthday present."

Teddy tossed it haphazardly into his trunk. It didn't matter anymore. Everything he tried to do ended in misery. He tried to ensure a better future for himself and Vicky and it ended up splitting them up. He tried to make his present special and it just made her angry. He tried to memorize the date of their anniversary and he memorized the wrong date.

"Looks nice."

"I worked scrubbing the cauldrons for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes research and development department all summer to get the cash."

"All summer?"

"Three to five every weekday."

"Must've been nasty."

"Especially when they were still working out the kinks for their fart pills. Nasty stuff, that."

"That's disgusting."

"Don't need to tell me."

"So...how are you doing?"

"I need to keep studying. My history dates still aren't up to par and I still can't label all the parts to a car."

"Are you going to do anything to try and get her back?"

"What can I do?" Teddy flung himself back on his bed. "Everything I try to do ends in ruins."

Teddy listened to the clock ticking above the door.

"Are you coming down to dinner?" Quinn asked.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"Ok, see you later."

"Yeah."

Teddy stared at the ceiling. He heard the door open and close. He was alone. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled the photo of his parents out. He had heard multiple times their love story; about the werewolf who fell in love with an animorphus who accepted him, about how they struggled to find the balance between sacrificing themselves for the cause of ridding Voldemort from the world and protecting each other, about how they had him, Teddy, and how they died together, protecting him and all of Hogwarts.

And here he was, not even managing to pick up on the hints his girlfriend left for him. How did his father ever manage to get a wife?

He tucked the picture back in his pocket and rolled over.

How did anyone manage to get a wife?

3

"Finals are in three weeks, Lily, what are you doing?" Kelsie asked.

"Relaxing," Lily replied, stretching out on one of the leather couches.

"You can't let up just because you succeeded in passing one of Professor Berne's tests. We have a history of magic review coming up."

"I know all of that."

"How can you know all of that?"

"Easy -- I pay attention."

"How can you pay attention to Binns?"

"It's a gift, I guess."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Hey guys!" Tad burst into the common room, his blond hair disheveled and his face red. "Guess what? Slytherin's in the lead for the house cup!"

"What?" one of the fifth years said, jumping out of his chair. "Really? You aren't just pulling my leg?"

"No! Gryffindor and Ravenclaw both lost five hundred house points last night!"

A universal cheer echoed through the common room. Students dashed into the dormitories to spread the news. One of the older students took out a Slytherin banner from a closet and hung it in the common room. Lily joined in the celebration, proud to be a part of it.

3

"What the -- how did we loose five hundred points?" Ike demanded.

"Ten Ravenclaws and ten Gryffindors were found wandering through the hallway last night, getting ready to do the annual prank on Slytherin," one of the fifth years replied.

"How can they get caught? Weren't the prefects in on it?" Al said.

"No -- there was a breakdown in communication somewhere. I blame Teddy and Vicky," the fifth year said. "Teddy was supposed to head it this year as Gryffindor Headboy, but he got distracted by his girlfriend. Go figure."

"Fifty points each for getting caught out of bed? I thought that was a standard twenty-five," Al said.

"They were caught by Professor Wolfe and he knew they were going to prank Slytherin. Someone must have tipped him," the fifth year said. "Besides, all of them had their wands drawn, an immediate twenty point deduction in suspicious cases. They were obviously up to something."

"Idiots," Al whispered. "I bet it was mostly the Gryffindors. Ravenclaws are smart enough not to walk around in the middle of the night with their wands drawn."

"There isn't any way we can come back from this," Ike muttered.

"And there isn't any way the Hufflepuffs can overcome the three hundred point lead Slytherin has."

"I suppose we should prepare ourselves for a Slytherin feast, then," the fifth year sadly remarked.

3

"So," Professor Longbottom said, "Have you given any thought about a career?"

Vicky looked at him sitting on the other side of the desk, his hands shrouded by various plants.

"I don't know, maybe working for the department of control of magical creatures for the ministry."

"You aren't sure?"

"No, I am sure -- that's what I want to do."

Professor Longbottom flipped through a couple of pages in front of him.

"Well, then, you need to get at least an E in care for magical creatures, and charms as well as one of your choice for your NEWTs -- they like potions, though. We like our students to carry on core subjects -- potions, history of magic, defense against the dark arts, and transfiguration -- if they are applicable after the OWLs. I have no doubt in your ability to excel in all of these areas, Weasley.'

"Thank you, sir."

"You may go and continue studying."

Vicky bowed out of the room and stood in the hallway for a few seconds. If all went well, the next few years would be a breeze. Care of magical creatures and charms? How easier could it get?

She returned to the common room and cracked open her potions book -- her most challenging course -- and started memorizing the cures for various poisons.

3

Teddy sprawled out on the grass by the lake. It was over. The NEWTs were done. He was done. No more academics. No more house Quidditch. No more Gryffindor. No more Hogwarts. This was it. The last week on Hogwarts grounds. The last time he could sneak off to the kitchens. The last time he could sneak into the cellar of Honeydukes. The last time he could annoy Quinn into playing a game of wizarding chess. His head throbbed with all of his knowledge leaked onto a page.

The sun beamed down on him with a comforting embrace. Quinn came over and laid down next to him.

"Glad that's over," Quinn muttered, closing his eyes.

"Mmm," Teddy agreed. "They really are nastily exhausting."

"How do you think you did?"

"I think I managed to scrape by in muggle studies, but history of magic is in the toilet. The others are fine. We'll get the official word in a few weeks."

"I know."

The birds twittered overhead.

"It's weird to think that this is what our seven years at Hogwarts has culminated to," Quinn mused. "A really really long test."

"I suppose."

"Yeah."

"I think we'll really know what Hogwarts has taught us next September, when we go to our new jobs instead of returning here. The next time we see the train will be when our kids come here. And we'll never set foot here again unless we become a professor or something terrible happens to our kid."

Some of the first years threw candy into the lake to see the octopus come to the surface.

"I don't want to leave," Quinn sighed.

"I knew it was coming, but it still feels like someone punched me in the gut."

"Mmm; don't talk to me anymore. I'm going to take a nap."

"Alright, that sounds like a good idea. Just like after our first round of final exams?"

"Yep."

Teddy stretched out on the grass, let his eyes close, and fell into a shallow sleep with the sounds of Hogwarts surrounding him.

3

"What happens if you fail your final?" Lily asked, sprawled out on the green bedspread.

"You didn't fail," Kelsie replied, throwing her stuff in her trunk. "Tad did worse than you on the transfiguration final."

"The only reason I even managed to get my matchbox covered in fur was because I used a charm on it."

"Well, you still transfigured it, I guess. It looked like a square mouse. A blind square mouse, but still a mouse."

"I failed."

"You didn't fail; now pack up so we can go down to the feast."

"She's going to know I charmed it."

"Relax. Cunning resourcefulness, remember?" Keslie pointed to the banner across the top of the wall that read off the majority of Slytherin traits they were to take pride in. "Doesn't say anything about honesty."

"Keslie..."

"Stop being so uptight. We won the cup!" Kelsie flopped on her bed and examined the green drapes over their beds. "Why do we have to leave?"

"The professors need a vacation, too."

Lily started throwing stuff into her trunk, not worrying if it would all fit.

"I just don't want to leave."

"I told you my parents said you could visit the Burrow at some point -- I could probably convince them to let you stay for a month, especially when I mention the muggle parents part, why won't this thing close?"

Kelsie took out her wand and flicked it at the trunk. It snapped closed.

"Thanks," Lily sighed.

"Alright, let's go eat."

"Geez, is that all you can think about?"

"I haven't eaten since breakfast out of anticipation."

"That's just stupid."

They went down to the great hall, Tad joining them once they got out of the dungeons.

"I'm going to invite you two to the Malfoy Manor at some point this summer," Tad said.

"I don't think I'd be able to go," Lily said sheepishly, "My father kind of hates your father."

"Yeah...I was afraid of that," Tad admitted, scratching his head. "I guess it won't work out if your father won't let you. I'm not even sure if my father would let a Potter step through the door."

"That would be good to know ahead of time," Kelsie said.

"Holy crap!" Lily pointed at the great hall, all other words failing her.

The hall was entirely decorated with green and silver, from the table clothes to the candles. Tapestries that hung from the wall depicted the serpent and the Slytherin traits. Slytherin pride swelled within Lily; nothing James could say would dampen it.

3

James crossed his arms and slumped against the window in the train.

"What's got you so surly?" Tim asked, sitting across from him.

"Slytherin won the house cup," James muttered.

"Oh, come on, Jim. The food was still good."

"I suppose."

"You really need to stop being so...anti-Slytherin, especially with Lily in the family."

"Please tell me you're joking."

The train started moving.

"Look, all I'm trying to say is...have a nice vacation, Potter," Tim grinned. "It was a fun year, I have to admit."

"Yeah, I suppose it was. I'm glad I got to play Quidditch, even though we sucked this year."

"Next year won't be as nasty. We have Rick for chaser, and Vicky as captain. We can't go wrong. The rest of the team stays. So long as I keep my eyesight sharp, we'll be good."

"Yeah -- Al's going to give you a run for your money, though. He's inherited my father's genes."

"Don't make me laugh -- I have the mighty lion on my side!" Tim flexed his arm in mock strength. James laughed. When all was said and done, it had been a good year. It would have been perfect if Lily hadn't been sorted into Slytherin, but other than that...it was pretty good.

3

Teddy looked out his window the entire way back to Platform 9 3/4. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself composed. He was leaving Hogwarts -- the only place that felt like it was truly home since he had moved in with the Potters. And now he would have to go back there, to the place where he was welcomed but he didn't welcome it. Lily and James would be at each other's throats all summer. He would need to start Auror training as soon as humanly possible.

Playtime was over. It was time to get serious.

3

"So," Lily's dad said, putting his hands on her shoulders, "I see you've survived your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Yep!" Lily said proudly. "And we won the house cup!"

"Really? Slytherin? Congratulations," he said.

"I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Can a friend stay with us for a while?"

"How long is a while?"

"I dunno. Her parents are muggles and she's never been in a magical household before."

"Is she Slytherin?"

"Yeah."

"I'd have to talk with your mother."

"Why? What does it matter if she's Slytherin or Ravenclaw?"

"I'd still have to talk with your mother."

"True."

"Go wash up for dinner."

Grinning, Lily bolted upstairs. Whether he realized it or not, her father had agreed to the arrangement -- the full month, in fact. They would probably bring Kelsie to Platform 9 3/4 and take her school shopping so her parents didn't have to be bothered by it. She dried her hands on a white towel and went down to the delicious aromas of dinner.

As good as Hogwarts food was, nothing could compare with her grandmother's cooking.

333


	2. Al's Accident

Teddy sat in his room, all the lights off, the blinds closed, and his eyes open. He couldn't sleep.

Nick had told him it was normal to experience insomnia at the beginning of Auror training, but even without sleep he was haunted by some of the things he had been shown -- children burned and tortured, helpless muggles bleeding and slowly dieing, shriveled limbs, and shriveling limbs. All of them experienced through a Penseive.

All of them had really happened. Each one was an actual event, a real life that was ruined or ended or mutated or destroyed. He had seen good peopled pained by the Cruciatus Curse. He had seen young lives ended by dark artifacts.

He had heard testimonies. From Harry and Ginny. Professor Longbottom and his wife. All of them were personal. All of them were real. He heard again how his parents died, how Professor Longbottom's parents were driven insane by the Cruciatus Curse, about how Mrs. Longbottom's father was killed by Voldemort's henchman.

Their world seemed so far away, so distant, so not real to him. But when they started talking about their effect here and now, about the dark wizards patrolling muggle streets looking for someone to kill and the suspected plans still circulating to undermine the ministry, he became angry.

Nick told him that was the right response. The girl sitting next to him through the testimonies began to cry. She had been escorted out of the room, leaving only five candidates. Nick told him that only one of them may remain when this is all done, or maybe none of them will be left, or maybe all of them. It was too soon to tell.

James began throwing his ball against his wall in the room next to Teddy's. Teddy listened to the regular thumping, taking comfort in it. Despite the chaos emanating throughout the world, some things never changed. He closed his eyes, taking in the steady thumping. It made him smile.

3

"Kelsie, wake up," Lily said, poking her friend sleeping on the cot. "It's morning."

"Mmm?" Kelsie rolled over and pressed her face into her pillow.

"Oh, come on. You're the one who told me to wake you up at dawn."

"I did?"

"Yes."

"Well, I've changed my mind."

"Kelsie, do you want to help cook, or not?"

"Fine."

Kelsie plucked the blankets off of her and stood up. Lily threw Kelsie's clothes at here.

"My grandma will never let you go downstairs in your pajamas, especially as only one of two girls in the house."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kelsie muttered, slipping her sweatshirt over her tee-shirt. Lazily, she put her jeans on over her pajamas.

"Isn't that going to be uncomfortable?"

"Not until I become conscious."

"Well, hurry up or James is going to wake up and be pissed because his breakfast isn't ready."

"Is he really that bad?" Kelsie asked, following Lily down the stairs.

"He's been on good behavior," Lily answered. She swung into the kitchen and flicked on the stove. "Chop some onions, will you? Some of the knives are charmed to do the chopping for you, so be careful."

"Man, I love cooking here. It's so easy." Kelsie leaned back and watched the knife chop up the onions.

"Just don't get carried away." Lily leaned into the icebox and pulled out some ham.

"So what are we cooking?"

"Eggs."

"That it?"

"And toast."

"Sounds good," Kelsie said. She sat down on at the table and cradled her head in her arms. Then, she fell asleep.

Loads of help she was. Shaking her head, Lily finished cooking.

3

James stared at his wall. The ball kept bouncing back to him. He kept throwing it. He was a fifth year. He had to think about a career.

When he was younger, he always wanted to be an Auror, to follow in his father's footsteps. But after seeing what Teddy had been through, he didn't think he would be able to survive. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't that strong.

He didn't know what else he could do, though. His mother worked for Saint Mungo's. His father was an Auror. Working in the joke shop could be fun. He had worked there every summer since he was ten. Last he heard, they wanted to open a new shop near Godric's Hollow. He could do that, or at least help to do that.

Then again, that might get old fast. Sure, he would love to come up with the latest fad, but he would have to do that forever. He needed something with more variety, more excitement.

Maybe he would find amusement working at the ministry. Most jobs were desk jobs, though. He didn't think he would survive locked in a room all day. He needed to get out sometimes.

There was something out there for him. Maybe Professor Longbottom would have a good suggestion.

3

"Vicky!"

"What?"

"Are you up yet?"

"Yes, papa, I'm up."

"Hurry up; your mother's getting nervous."

Vicky hated it when her relatives visited from France. It wasn't as bad when they went there; she didn't have to clean every nook and cranny of the house then. She grabbed her sweatshirt off the back of her chair and slid it over her head.

Her mother screamed French up the stairs. She couldn't quite make out what she said through the closed door. Before joining her parents in the kitchen, she pulled her blonde hair back in a ponytail.

"What took you so long?" her mama demanded.

"Getting ready," Vicky answered, slumping in a chair.

"Look happy!" her mama demanded. Vicky gave her a mock smile. "I'm serious!"

"I know. Excuse me for not being ecstatic."

"They're coming all the way from France, and you cannot even smile?" her mama slipped into French near the end. Her papa wasn't kidding when he said she was getting nervous.

There was a loud crack outside.

Her mama went outside, flinging open the door, and greeted her parents, her sister, her brother in-law, and their children -- Josephine, aged five, Regine, aged three, and Sebastien, hardly a year old. This was not going to be fun.

Maybe she should go to Uncle George's shop in Hogsmead for awhile.

3

"Teddy, you look terrible," Al said, passing him a piece of toast.

"Mmm," Teddy said, biting into his toast. He didn't want to deal with his cousin, no matter how good his intentions were. He just wanted to eat his breakfast and then go back to his room. He doubted Harry would let him creep back into his hole, though.

Harry had been really good about the whole Auror thing. Every time Teddy wanted to go sulk alone in his room, Harry had pulled him out and sent him to one of the joke shops for the weekend, forcing him back into habitable society. Nick said this was good, and that they encouraged everyone to have a job on the side to distract them from the horrors of dark wizards. Nick himself worked at Honeydukes. The majority of the Aurors did have a side job working somewhere silly, especially if they didn't have a family.

"You need to get some sleep," Al said again.

"So do you."

"I need it less than you."

"You probably outgrew your robes this summer, and you aren't done growing."

Al sat back against his chair and crossed his arms. Teddy looked at his cousin, amused. Al refused to admit that he was taller than James, probably out of fear of what James would do. Teddy wondered if he would still make a decent seeker; he might be getting too lanky to be effectively fast. Teddy, too, had gained a couple of centimeters. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make his pants feel a little too short.

"Hey, do you want to play Quidditch?" Al asked and shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

"Ahh, I don't know."

"Come on, Teddy. You haven't played all summer."

"I need to see if Ron or George needs me."

"They'll last one day without you," Al said. "Or are you afraid you won't be able to get a quaffle by Lily?"

"I know I won't get one by her -- I'm not a Quidditch genius like your mother."

Lily had been practicing keeper all summer, half the time with Ginny. By the end of the first month, Ginny was pulling out all the stops trying to score against her, and she holds three Quidditch records with the Harpies. Lately, though, Ginny had been busy with some major research breakthroughs at St. Mungo's and Lily had been teaching Kelsie how to play. It didn't help that Keslie was rather unstable on a broom.

"It doesn't matter," Al said. "You can still play and have fun. We'll put Lily on seeker and I'll play keeper."

"You're still a pretty good keeper, Al."

"Not that good. Lily's almost as good as Vicky, and she hasn't really played on a team before."

"Maybe this afternoon."

"Maybe?"

"Fine, this afternoon I'll play."

"Alright! I'll polish your broom for you."

"There's no need, Al," Teddy said. Al didn't here him, already running through the yard to the broom shed. Well, at least he could work this morning.

3

"Mama, I don't want to go to the Burrow," Vicky said firmly.

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter!" her mama replied.

"I'm not going."

"You don't have that option."

"Why can't I just go to the joke shop for a few hours?"

"You aren't going to the Burrow for your sake or my sake or your father's sake. You're doing it for your grandpapa and grandmama, for your aunt and uncle. Got it? They want to visit the Potters, we visit the Potters."

"Mama!"

"No, Victoire Emmeline! You will not be able to sneak your way out of this! Do you understand?"

"I don't want to go!"

"I know you don't want to go. This isn't about what you do or do not want to do; it's about what you have to do!"

"I don't have to go to the Burrow. I don't have to do anything."

There was a moment of silence where her mama regained some of her composure.

"Fine, how about a compromise? You go to the Hogsmeade shop this morning, and come to the Burrow in the afternoon."

"I don't want to go at all."

"Then how about you just come for the whole day, then?" Her mama's anger returned in full force.

"I'll be there at one," Vicky muttered, crossing her arms.

"The floo powder is over the sink."

"I know."

"Don't be late."

Vicky grabbed her Weasley's Wizarding Wheeze's green robes out of her closet and followed her mother down the stairs. With any luck, Teddy would be at work while she was at the Burrow.

3

Kelsie threw an apple at Lily. Lily caught it with one hand.

"Again," Lily said, putting the apple in the bushel. She caught the apple with her other hand.

"Have you ever played soccer?" Kelsie asked, throwing another apple at Lily.

"Mmm...is that the one with the cards?"

"No." Keslie threw another apple.

"Is it the one with the net and black and white ball?"

"Yep."

"No, I've never played it. Why? Do you like it?"

"Yeah; I wanted to become a professional. Before, you know, I got the letter from Hogwarts. I suppose every one does, though, right?"

"I don't know. Of all the things to do, professional sports seem the most boring. I mean, sure, you get paid to play all day, but it must get repetitive."

"Yeah...I guess it would."

Lily sat down under one of the apple trees and stared into the sky.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do," Kelsie said, sitting next to Lily.

"It'd be cool to become an Auror, but I don't think I have the skills," Lily admitted.

"You mastered all the first year spells," Kelsie said. "You have a great memory. Once you get it, you really get it. So I don't think it'd be that much of a problem for you. You'd just have to work a whole lot harder than everyone else, which you already do."

"Yeah, but if everyone is working as hard as I do now, how can I keep up?"

"I'm sure once you get used to the magic thing, it'll come easier."

"I still think I should find a secondary career."

"Like what?"

"I have no idea -- professional Quidditch seems to be the only other option. That or working at the joke shop, but I'd probably ruin all their cauldrons. So...maybe not."

"You know, I haven't been to the Weasley joke shop yet."

"Oh, I'll give you the grand tour when we go get our school things."

"That'd be cool."

"Yeah; I think you'll like it."

"Can we fly around for a bit?"

"You want to risk your life again?"

"I want to get good at Quidditch."

"Ok."

3

Teddy leaned on the counter and stared out to the streets of Diagon Alley. They were crowded, kids and parents surging through them trying to figure out what they needed for the new year at Hogwarts. It was a weird feeling, watching all the commotion instead of being a part of it. This was always his favorite time of year. He would try on his robes, find out they're too short. His grandma would let out the hem. He would look at his book list, find the books used, renew his potions store, and then get an ice cream.

Only last year had it been different, but not that different; he had gone with Vicky instead of Ginny and Harry. They had a lot to do with their three kids, anyway. James and Lily both needed robes, Al needed a new cauldron, and Lily needed to be outfitted with all the cool wizarding stuff.

He could pick out which ones were muggles on their first excursion to the wizarding world. They were led around by one of the professors and looked like someone would kill them if they looked in the wrong direction. He could tell the families whose first child was just entering Hogwarts; they were the ones piling all sorts of stuff on the poor kid, making him try on everything and making sure it fit right and that he had room to grow.

No one had entered the joke shop. Yet. He was sure it would get busy once the older students pulled themselves from their beds. Until then, he could just relax.

3

Why did they have to send her to Diagon Alley? She knew Teddy would be there. And there he was, behind the counter, playing with one of the new toys Georgie had developed.

"Ah, Vicky," Ron greeted, coming down the stairs to greet her. "Can you do the front window display with the new varieties of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes?"

"Sure," Vicky replied.

"Teddy, some of the boxes are pretty heavy -- give her a hand, will you?"

Teddy looked up from his toy at Ron as if he was slightly deranged.

"She can't lift them, Teddy," Ron said.

"I'll manage," Vicky sharply said, sliding down the stairs to the cellar. Damn him. When did he get so lazy?

The storage area of the basement was stacked to the ceiling with goods -- half of the crates the new product to go on display. She gripped the handles of one of the largest boxes -- those that needed to go in the display first, and tugged with all she had.

The crate didn't budge.

She tried again with the same result.

"Move over, will you?" Teddy grumbled, nudging her out of his way. "You'd think you'd be able to pick up a crate after a summer training Quidditch."

"Why would I spend my vacation playing a game, Teddy? I want to spend time with my family." She crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.

"Yeah, I've heard that before." There was no amusement in his tone. He lifted the box as if it held feathers and hauled it up the stairs with ease. Vicky hated him for it. But, at the same time, she couldn't take her eyes off him

3

"What's with those two?" Keslie asked quietly, nodding towards Teddy and Vicky.

"Mmm...that's Ted Lupid and Vicky Weasley," Lily said, "They went out for two years and split up at the end of last. From what I hear, no one dared enter the Gryffindor Common room when they were alone together. This is the first time they've been in the same room together all summer, I think. I could be wrong."

"Oh, so that's the infamous pair."

"Don't talk so loud -- Teddy has the ears of a hawk and the temper of a Weasley."

"If they're split up, why do they keep staring at each other like that?"

Lily stared at the pair for a moment. Whenever Teddy thought Vicky wasn't looking, he looked in her direction. Whenever Vicky thought Teddy wasn't looking, she looked in his direction.

"I'd guess that, despite having broken up, they still have feelings for each other, and this is the first time they've spent time together since the ride home from King's Cross."

"Do you think they know they're looking at each other?"

"Probably."

3

Al stared at Teddy, shocked. He had nearly fallen off his broom when Vicky shanked him. Teddy's face was red, even from across the field. Al dismounted his broom and waited for the others. However, once he thought about it, he changed his mind and went inside alone. He had heard enough war stories from Gryffindor to last him a life time. He didn't need any of his own.

When he passed the Delacours, he waved, and then went upstairs to his room. He could hear Teddy through his window.

"What was that for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you shank me? That's an illegal manuever!"

"You're the one that flew in front of my broom!"

And it went on.

Al reclined on his bed and stared at the ceiling. It didn't make any sense as to why they were like this. It was obvious why they had broken up; Teddy just stopped acting like he was involved with her. He did that to protect himself, probably. The summer before last year, he did lose his grandmother, the only family he had, and they were close, and Al had seen the aftermath of it; it was not pretty. He was even less involved than he had been at Hogwarts. Vicky hadn't figured out what was wrong with him, and he didn't figure out what it was that she really wanted. Even from the distance of Ravenclaw, Al had seen them drift farther and farther apart. It was like they were two boats adrift at sea and the rope connecting them snapped, but neither of them noticed until it was too late. Tragic, really.

He cracked open a book -- _Tom Marvalo Riddle; the Man Behind You-Know-Who_. He had read it before and he absolutely hated it. The way they portrayed Voldemort as a poor guy without any other choice but become evil made him sick.

Maybe this time he wouldn't actually vomit.

3

Lily didn't dream often, and when she did, she rarely remembered what they had been about the previous day. They had never recurred before.

But she had been having the same dream for three nights, now. It was about a black bird -- a raven -- that had been cut up in the shadows and left there to die. The bird struggles to move, but its hurt so bad it can't. It cries out for help, but no one can hear it. Lily tries to reach out and pick it up, but it's out of reach. When she reaches out to touch it, she wakes up.

For three nights, she's puzzled over what it could mean. Kelsie thought it meant that even though there are some things she wanted to change with all her might, she couldn't, and she had to come to terms with that. It made sense. She had been thinking a lot about how she couldn't become an Auror simply because she didn't have the necessary innate ability. Maybe she just had to accept it and find something else she could do, something that would be more in line with her magical prowess.

But why a raven? They weren't even cute.

3

Teddy sat in his room, silent, the darkness around him comforting some ailment he couldn't name. He wanted to close his eyes, to fall asleep, but something told him not to; a feeling he couldn't name deep within him. He really could've used it, too.

A part of him yearned for someone to talk to. All the people he would like to talk to were either dead or not talking to him. He wondered who his mother counted on during this time to help her through her training; he wasn't naive enough to think she made it on her own. She hadn't known his father, then. Another trainee, perhaps? Her father or mother? He really didn't know. All he knew was that he wanted someone to confide in, someone to leak all of his secrets to, someone to comfort him.

There was no way he could send an owl; the ministry forbade the spreading of Auror secrets. There was no way he could contact Quinn -- he was in Africa training with the Gringotts goblins. Ron and George were out of the question. Georgie would just divulge his secrets to everyone else. Harry had his own difficulties to deal with in the Auror business without worrying about him. Besides, the last thing he wanted was to be pulled from the program by head of the Auror department. Ginny would just tell everything to Harry; that was how women were.

If he and Vicky were still hospitable, he would talk with her. But she wouldn't give him the time of day. He was actually going to apologize, too, for being so cold last year, but then she had shanked him and those hopes were dashed. Maybe he should just apologize anyway, get it out of the way, and see what happens from there.

3

"Your Hogwarts robes still fit, Kelsie?" Al's mum said.

"Yeah."

"Good, good. Al, can you take Kelsie to the joke shop while I take care of Lily's robes?"

"Yep," Al said, "It's down this way."

He led Kelsie down a shortcut to the back entrance of the joke shop. He didn't really think Uncle Ron would mind him sneaking up the back way. Only once in the past he had minded, and that was only because he was testing out a new portable swamp and Aunt Hermione didn't want to get it all over the floors.

"Should we really be going this way?" Kelsie asked.

"Yeah; the owner is my uncle, after all." Al stomped up the stairs to the entrance and opened the door. "You can go in; nothing's going to bite you."

Kelsie stepped into the room.

"This doesn't look like a joke shop," she said.

"It isn't; it's my uncle's research and development floor. Downstairs is the shop."

Al nudged her towards the left, where the stairs dipped into the shop, away from the massive amounts of potions ingredients and cauldrons. Kelsie led the way down the stairs and they ended up in the back room. Aunt Hermione was sitting at her desk, reading a book.

"Hey, Al," she said. "Who's this?"

"Kelsie -- one of Lily's friends. I'm showing her around while Lily gets new robes."

"She already needs new robes?"

"They were Jim's old ones and they're pretty worn out."

"Ah, well, hello, Kelsie, I'm Hermione. Hugo is stocking shelves, if you're wondering."

"Thanks." Al pushed Kelsie through the office door into the shop.

"What is all this stuff?" Kelsie asked, looking around. All the walls were covered by boxes of product and the floor was cluttered with displays. All sorts of baubles hung from the ceiling and even more were on display at the counter.

"Joke stuff."

"All of it?"

"Yeah; if you want anything, let me know and I'll buy it for you."

"You don't have to do that, Al."

"Do you have any money?" Al looked at her expectantly. "I didn't think so. If you want something and it's in my price range, I'll buy it for you. If you refuse to pick something, I'll pick my favorite and give it to you."

"I can't let you do that."

"Well, I'm going to do it, anyway. Look -- there's some samples. Go ahead, take one."

Kelsie tentatively took one of the candies on the display tray. She unwrapped it and ate it. She had grabbed a puking pastel. Al waited for a minute.

"It's pretty good."

Her face quickly blanched. She doubled over and vomited on the floor. She straightened up, but then immediately vomited again.

"Here, eat this," Al said, shoving another candy in her hand.

"What is it? Bleghr."

"The cure."

Al stepped out of the way of the vomit. Kelsie shoved it down her throat and sighed.

"What was that?"

"Puking pastel."

"Nasty."

"No, not nasty, hilarious."

"Hilarious?"

"Yep."

Al went up and bought ten puking pastels. He gave Kelsie five.

"Give them to someone unexpecting," Al said, "or use them to get out of class."

"Will it work?"

"Yep. Just eat one, when they send you to the infirmary, all you need to do is pop the antidote in and walk off to do whatever you want."

"So I can get out of history of magic?"

"I wouldn't recommend that. Binns tends not to pay attention."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"We should probably track down Lily, then," Al said, opening the front door for Kelsie.

3

Vicky stared at her ceiling. Why did she try and knock Teddy off his broom? She felt like an idiot. He didn't look well, either. He looked like he hadn't slept in months, like he had been tortured for days on end. That just made her feel worse. She had been too hard on him, expected too much. Maybe she should just apologize, get it over with, try and resurrect some of the bridges that have burned. She didn't have to be that hostile to him; there was no reason for it.

"Vicky!" her dad called up the stairs. "Come down to dinner!"

"I'm not hungry!"

She didn't hear her father storming up the stairs or her mother beginning to get angry. All she heard was Fifi and Regine making a ruckus. Her father didn't make her come down to dinner, her mother didn't seem to mind. She rolled over and over the edge of her bed at the floor.

Maybe the only solution was to apologize. Or get out of the house. One of the two.

3

Lily looked around her room. It was dark. It was night. She couldn't see anything. Something was wrong. Something wasn't right. James was fine. There wasn't anything wrong with James. She could hear Kelsie breathing heavily across the room. It wasn't Teddy. Teddy was perfectly fine. Her parents were safe.

"Al," she whispered.

What was wrong with Al? No...nothing. It was nothing. It was just drafty. Yes, that's what it was. Her window was opened a little. But...the window wasn't open. Could there be something wrong with Al? He was asleep in his bed. She had seen him go into his room. Maybe she should just check, just to see if he was in his room, snoring away.

Quietly, she crept across the room, careful not to awake Kelsie. She slunk down the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky stairs. She put her ear to Al's door.

The only thing she could hear was the creaking of floorboards. No breathing. No snoring. No Al. She leaned on the door, coaxing it silently open.

Al wasn't in his bed.

Abandoning secrecy, she bolted down the stairs to the bathroom and flipped the door open. It was empty.

Where was Al? Why wasn't he in his room? Why wasn't he in the bathroom? He wasn't in the kitchen; she passed through there on her way to the bathroom. He wasn't here. He was in trouble. Where was he? She ran back to her room and jumped on Kelsie.

"What?" she mumbled. "Is it morning already?"

"Al's missing!" Lily yelled.

"Shut up and go back to bed -- it's still dark out."

"No, you don't understand!"

"What don't I understand? That I want sleep?"

"He isn't in his bed, he isn't in the bathroom, and he isn't in the kitchen! This isn't like him!"

"Go back to bed, Lily."

"No, forget it. I'll find him myself."

Lily grabbed her wand and slammed the door behind her. She had to find Al.

"What's wrong?" Teddy asked.

"I don't know where Al is!"

"Al?"

"Al! He isn't in his room and he isn't in the bathroom and he isn't in the kitchen and it isn't like him!"

"Where do you think he is?"

"I don't know...not here." Lily looked around, her eyes wide. Where was he? "Outside? He isn't here. He isn't in the house."

"Alright, lets go."

3

Teddy didn't like this. He didn't like this one bit. Was this the manifestation of his anxiety? Maybe he should wake up Harry. No...Harry would brush him off as paranoid. He followed Lily outside. She seemed frantic, looking around like a bunny caught in a trap.

"Where do you think he is?"

"I...I'm not sure. I think he's in one of the middle fields," she said and began running. Teddy struggled to keep up with her. She was really anxious and had loads of pent up energy he did not have, especially after nearly a sleepless week. It was like she was tracking something, staring at the ground and surging forward confidently.

"What are you following?"

"Can't you see it?" she asked.

"She what?"

"The trail."

Teddy almost stopped running; was she serious? Was all of this just a figment of her imagination, or was it legitimate? Was it worth stopping to figure it out?

No; he would let Lily run this out.

3

Where was he? She could see the trail, faint though it was. She wasn't even sure if it was Al's trail, but she knew it led to him. It didn't look like a trail a human would leave; it was lithe and slithering, like a snake, not abrupt and uneven. She doggedly followed the shining green trail, dodging the natural obstacles by the light of the moon.

He had to be around here somewhere.

The path dodged left. She followed it.

"Al!" she yelled. "Al!"

No response.

He was here. She could feel him, almost smell him.

"He'sssss ourss," someone whispered in her ear.

"No...no he isn't!" Lily yelled back. "Where is he?"

"You'll have to fffffind him."

Lily pulled her wand out of her pocket.

"Lumos!" A bright light blared from the tip of her wand. She was surprised; never had she gotten this result from the spell. Quickly, she pushed it from her mind.

Beneath her feet was a blanket of snakes, all of them weaving in and around each other, all of them surging to a meter away, where Al laid on the ground, unconscious.

"Get away!" She screamed at the snakes. "Stupefy!" She aimed her wand at one and over ten of them stopped moving. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Snakes all around her became immobilized. She flicked them off of Al and knelt by his side.

Something wasn't right with him. Why was he in the middle of the field, alone, with snakes slithering over him? He was unconscious, but she couldn't figure out why.

"Teddy, help me!"

Teddy pulled his wand and stupefied the snakes coming at him and Lily. She hissed at him, spit flying from her mouth.

"I don't understand you!" he screamed. His wand flicked back and forth, almost as if he was playing a game, as he shot down snake after snake. They just kept coming.

"Help me!"

Teddy flung around and shouted, "Mobilcorpus!" Al levitated off the ground and Teddy lifted him from harm's way.

"Come on, Lily, let's get out of here," Teddy said, grabbing Lily by the hand and dragging her behind him.

She hissed and hissed all the way back to the Burrow. Teddy, struggling with Al, didn't have time to worry about what in the world she was trying to do.

Somehow, he managed to get Al into the house and on the couch in the living room.

"Go wake up your parents," he told Lily.

She nodded and ran up the stairs. He turned his attention to Al. He was pale, as if the blood had been drained from him. He didn't have any wounds on him -- no bite marks, no slashes, no punctures. There was no way he could have been poisoned unless it was injested.

He looked at the veins in the boy's wrist. No...they weren't discolored. Chances are, he wasn't poisoned. Teddy didn't know what to do. He waited for Harry.

3

"What is it, Lily?" her dad muttered, groping for his glasses.

"It's Al! He's been injured!" she screamed.

"What the hell is that, Harry?" Ginny demanded, clicking on the light.

"It's Lily, geez Gin, you'd think you just woke up to a snake on your face."

"I thought I had, Harry, my god..." She fell back into bed. "You gave me a heart attack."

"Dad! Come on! He's really hurt!"

"What? Did he fall out of his bed?"

"I'm serious! Teddy and I found him in the middle of a field!"

"Teddy?"

"Yes; they're downstairs right now."

"Alright, alright."

Her dad let Lily drag him down the stairs to where Al was recumbent on the couch.

"You weren't kidding," he said, quickly approaching his prostrate son.

"No, I wasn't."

"Ginny!" Harry bellowed up the stairs. "Come quick!"

Lily's mum quickly thudded down the stairs, her wand in hand.

"Damn, Harry, can't you let me...is that Al?" their mum quickly knelt by Harry. She checked for all the things Teddy had checked for and then some more things. Lily stood by the stairs, watching.

"We need to bring him to St. Mungo's," their mum said quietly.

"Should we both go...or..."

"I'll take him now. If I'm not back, you can come later. Get as much information as you can from these two." Ginny stood up, holding Al awkwardly in her arms, and disapparated.

3

Harry and Lily sat across the table from each other, the overhanging light casting luminous shadows over their faces. Teddy leaned against the counter, sipping a glass of water. None of this made any sense. Lily hissing, following an invisible trail, knowing something was wrong with Al...

"So let me get this straight," Harry said. "You thought something was wrong, checked on Al, Al wasn't there, so you went outside with Teddy?"

"Yes."

"And you followed a trail?"

"It looked green, but shiny...sparkly, like crystal dust or something, but liquidy."

"And then you heard a voice, used magic, found Al, and managed to get out?"

"Yes."

"Teddy?"

"She hissed," Teddy said faintly, "Like she was pretending to be a snake."

Harry looked at Lily seriously.

"I wasn't hissing!" Lily repeated. "I was talking to the voice. I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Lily -- you were hissing," Teddy said.

"I think I'd know if I was hissing."

"But you don't!" Teddy slammed his glass on the table.

"Teddy, please calm down if you can," Harry said. "Lily -- you were hissing. It's just that you're a Parselmouth."

"A what?"

"It means you can talk snake," Teddy said, his tone sharp.

"What's going on down here?" James asked, entering the kitchen.

"Go back to bed, Jim," Harry said.

"But it's almost ten in the morning."

"What? It's nearly ten?" Teddy exclaimed. "I have to get to the ministry; I'm late!"

He disapparated from of the Burrow.

"Teddy, you're late," Nick said harshly.

"I'm sorry. I had kind of...an emergency, I guess," Teddy said.

"What happened?"

"Er...well...one of the Potter kids has had...an accident."

"What did he do?"

"I am not sure, but he's at St. Mungo's right now."

"Wait...St. Mungo's?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I'm sorry. Report to Ralph today. I have things to take care of."

Nick disapparated. Teddy stood up and left the room, went down the hallway, and into the lecture hall. The other candidates were there, too.

"What's going on?" Teddy asked.

"I don't know," Dexter, the shortest candidate, said.

Ralph, one of the Auror mentors, paced back and forth at the front of the room, staring at a sheet of parchment.

"What's going on, Ralph?" Dexter asked.

"It seems...it seems that we have a problem on our hands."

3

"Do they know what's wrong with him, yet?" Lily's dad asked her mum.

"No," her mum whispered. Lily stood by the door, watching her mum and dad standing over their son. James and Kelsie had stayed at the Burrow with Grandma Weasley. Lily had insisted on going.

"I heard the ministry wants the order to be reestablished. Is this true?" her mum said softly.

"I'm not sure yet. I contacted Neville and he's setting up the Fidelius Charm for us, just to be sure. He's going to Ron and Hermione's this Friday to give us all the address."

"Is it ok for you to continue going about?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"I can't believe this happened to him."

"He'll be fine."

Her mum looked at her dad.

"We don't know that, Harry," she said softly.

She glanced at Lily and then leaned it to Harry to whisper something in his ear. He cringed and sighed.

"We need to do what needs to be done," he said firmly.

Lily stared at Al, laying on the bed. It was her fault he was like that. If she had been faster, she could have found him sooner. If she had been able to convince Kelsie of what had happened, they would have found him sooner. Whatever happens to him, she'll be responsible.

She sat down on the floor with her back to the wall and waited for her parents to be finished. There was nothing she could do.

3

Vicky sat with her grandma at the kitchen table. Kelsie sat next to her and James sat next to Grandma Weasley. She wasn't really sure why she was there. Maybe she was waiting for Teddy to return. Maybe she just wanted to get away from the screaming little children.

"If you want to go to St. Mungo's, I'll watch these two," Vicky suggested to her grandma.

"No, I can't let you do that."

"They can't be that much trouble. I'm sure I'd manage."

"I promised Harry I'd look after these two myself."

"Ok, then."

Vicky's eyes settled on the blank spot on the wall where the Weasley clock had been before. She hadn't seen what it had read, but evidently it was enough to unnerve the wizened old woman sitting across from her; the minute Grandma Weasley came into the kitchen, she hid it away in one of the closets. The only thing that could have happened was that Al was in mortal peril.

James stood up and got himself a glass of water. His face was straight, emotionless. Vicky couldn't figure out how he was taking it. She wasn't sure whether she should try and distract him or let him drink his water in peace. There was a reason why she was pursuing a career which did not necessitate constant contact with people.

"How about some lunch?" Grandma Weasley asked, standing up from her chair.

"I'm not hungry," James said. His tone was as flat as his face.

"Neither am I," Vicky said.

"Kelsie?"

"Err...well...I'm a little hungry, but I don't want to make you cook just for me."

"Nonsense," Grandma Weasley said. "I'll have a sandwich for you in a few minutes, dear."

"Don't feel bad," Vicky whispered to Kelsie. "Grandma Weasley tends to cook when she gets anxious."

Grandma Weasley flicked her wand at the table and a pitcher of lemonade with cups appeared on the table. James sat back and folded his arms across his chest. Vicky watched as her grandma busied herself in the kitchen.

Teddy must be taking this hard. He was there, wasn't he, when they found Al? And then he had to go to Auror training, to be tortured for another day. Despite everything they've fought over, she still didn't want anything to hurt him.

Maybe she was there for Teddy.

3

If there was one thing Teddy did not want to do, it was go back to the Burrow. Not yet, anyway. He sat in the lobby of the ministry, staring at the various people passing by him. No one really knew who he was, so none of them wondered why he was sitting alone in the lobby of the ministry. He was wearing muggle clothes -- jeans and a tee shirt -- rather than the trainee robes Nick had given him.

Faintly, he wondered what all the commotion was about. A few minutes ago, there was no one bustling around. But now, it seemed every department was running around, trying to find something or do something or accomplish something. He stretched his legs and tilted his head back to stare at the high ceiling.

"Hey, Teddy, you need to go home." Teddy looked forward. Nick was standing in front of him, also dressed in muggle clothes. "This is not the place to be loitering right now."

"I know," Teddy muttered. "I just don't want to go home."

"You don't have a choice. We need you to get out of here."

"But why? I mean, isn't there anything I can do to help?" He had an irking feeling all this commotion had something to do with what happened this morning, but had nothing to back it up.

"I wish I could tell you, Lupin, I really do. To be honest, you're probably the most promising candidate we have for Aurorship. But it's really classified information. Most of the Aurors don't even know. I'm sorry. I really am. You need to go. I'm not kidding. I'll throw you into the floo network myself, if I have to."

"No, I'll just apparate."

"Training is cancelled for the rest of the week, by the way."

Nick disappeared with the crack of apparation. Teddy followed his example.

3

James leaned against the wall of the kitchen, silently watching. A man from the ministry -- a coworker of his dad's -- had come to talk with Lily. He was a short man, missing three of his fingers on his left hand, and had a patch over his right eye. He talked quietly, as if he was worried someone would overhear them. His mum had come home for Lily's inquisition and was sitting next to her, silent. Their dad wasn't home, yet. Vicky had taken Kelsie to the Diagon Alley joke shop for a while. Teddy hadn't come home, either.

Lily was a Parselmouth, huh? Well, that certainly explained some things -- like how she was in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, or why she always hid snakes away in her room when she was younger. It explained why she was so different from him and Al. She had more Potter than Weasley in her.

Maybe the Slytherins were right when they said she was the real Potter. She was a Parselmouth, like their father. Al had their father's insane Quidditch skills. What did he have? His mother's hair, his uncle's cowardice, and Gryffindor. The same house most of the Weasleys were or are in. He had no right to call himself a Potter.

He turned and went up the stairs to his room. Settling on his bed, he started throwing the ball against the wall.

3

The first thing Teddy saw when he entered the kitchen was Adrian Waters, one of the top Aurors, sitting across the table from Lily and Ginny. This confirmed all the fears he had. What happened to Al wasn't an accident. It wasn't coincidence. It wasn't a mistake. All of it had been planned. All of it had been purposefully carried out.

"Ah, hello, Teddy," Adrian greeted with his light tenor voice.

"What's wrong?" Teddy asked.

"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out. If you wouldn't mind leaving us alone for a few more minutes, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Of course." Teddy left the three alone in the kitchen.

Kelsie and Vicky were playing wizarding chess in the living room, both girls bowed in complete concentration.

"Rook to E 7," Vicky said. The board listened to her.

"King to B 8," Kelsie said.

"You've got to be kidding," the king squeaked, grudgingly sliding over to its space.

"Checkmate," Vicky said.

"Again?" Kelsie examined the board and irately admitted defeat. "Isn't there like...I don't know...wizarding checkers or something?"

Teddy went over to the couch and sat on the opposite end from Vicky. Vicky glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

"Nah," Vicky answered Kelsie. "Do you want to play Quidditch or something?"

"It started raining a few minutes ago," Teddy said.

"I don't want to, anyway. I want to beat Uncle Ron at chess," Kelsie said.

"Uncle Ron?" Teddy asked suspiciously.

Keslie shrugged and set up the board again. Vicky helped. Kelsie, white, went first. They played for a while. Teddy tried to stay out of it, but the whining pieces refused to leave him alone. He leaned over and watched the board.

"You shouldn't move your rook, Kelsie," he said. "You'll leave your queen open."

"Be quiet, Ted," Vicky said.

"The girl needs all the help she can get," he replied. "You're just excited you finally found someone you can beat." He slid down the couch next to Vicky and stared at the board.

"Bishop to F five," Teddy said.

"Do agree?" the pieces asked Kelsie. She looked at the board for a few seconds and then nodded her head.

"Check mate," Teddy said.

"Damn it, Ted!" Vicky said, pushing him away. "She didn't see it, even after you told her where to go!"

"Geez, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so touchy about your chess. You never seemed to mind before when I crushed you."

"Just stop talking." Vicky got up and went into the kitchen, where the chimney was lit. He heard the whoosh of floo powder and mild surprise of Ginny and Lily being interrupted.

"Why do I always say stupid things?" he muttered, sprawling out on the couch.

"You know, I'm not expert or anything, and I'm certainly no Gryffindor, but if I didn't know better, I'd say you two still liked each other," Kelsie said, setting up the chess board again.

"You really shouldn't talk about things you don't know about."

"Well, it's just that you live with her relatives and you work at the same joke shops and if you really didn't like each other, you'd at least be friendly to each other."

"I hate girls," Teddy muttered.

"All I'm saying is that you know where she lives and you know you have something to say to her."

He really hated girls. All of them. This kid didn't even know what she was talking about. It was like she was pulling it from a book or something, which she probably was. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep; maybe that would calm his nerves.

3

"Victoire! Victoire!" Regine said, wrapping her arms around her.

"Hey," Vicky replied, patting her back. "Having fun?"

Her cousin looked at her as if she had three heads.

"She doesn't know that much English, yet," her mama said.

"My French...is...a bit...rusty, forgive me," Vicky told her cousin, pretending to grope for the right French words. Her cousin smiled, laughed, and ran off with Fifi.

"The girl needs to visit France, then, if her French is rusty," her Aunt Gabrielle said, again in French.

"I'm going to my room. I need to review my text books." Vicky started going up the stairs.

"Don't listen to her; her French is anything but rusty. I make sure of it," her mama tartly corrected.

Vicky supposed that was true. Her mama set her up on more than one occasion with correspondents for Beauxbatons or with some relatives. Beauxbaton students tended to have some sort of superiority complex that said they had to biff any Hogwarts students. It certainly didn't help that they were all girls. From what she heard, they all got a little crazy by the end of the year.

At least they didn't have to deal with boys, though.

She sat down at her desk and flipped open her care for magical creatures book. Vacation was beginning to take its toll on her. She wanted to get back to Hogwarts, to get out of this house, to get out of her family, to get away from Teddy. Every time she turned around, there he was. Mocking her. Teasing her. Infuriating her. It was as if that was all he was capable of doing.

There was a loud crack behind her. She jumped two feet and spun around.

Teddy stood in the middle of her room, pushing his brown hair out of his face. He really did like the brown better than the more exotic colors.

"Teddy! What are you doing here?"

"Vicky, is everything alright up there?" her papa called up the stairs.

"Yes, papa, it's fine," she replied. "What do you want, Teddy? All of my relatives are downstairs."

"I'm sorry," Teddy said.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a jerk at chess, I'm sorry for being a jerk over the summer, I'm sorry for ignoring you last year. I never wanted this to happen. I swear. All I wanted was to...I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't think me coming here will bring things back to the way they were, but maybe it's a step in the right direction. Maybe we can be in the same room without feeling obligated to bicker. Maybe...maybe it's all pointless. I don't know. I just wanted to tell you that. I miss you. A lot. Just...just think about it."

"Teddy..."

"I need to get back to the Burrow. I left Kelsie alone with the chess board."

He disapparated.

Vicky stared at where he had stood, silent. He had apologized? She felt like...she felt like she had to go back to the Burrow, too. To talk to him. Or to look at him. Or both. She grabbed her care for magical creatures book and went down stairs.

"I'm going to the Burrow," Vicky said.

"Who just apparated to your room?" her dad asked.

"Hmm?" she looked at him, biting her tongue.

"Let me try again; who disapparated from your room?"

"Err...well...you see...it was...umm...Ted. So...if you don't mind I'm just going to go to the Burrow."

"No," he said. "Sit down and eat with your family."

"Uh...but...I'm supposed to be amusing Kelsie."

"I'm sure Ted can take care of her."

She wasn't going to win this fight.

Resigned, she put her book on the mantle and sat down next to Fifi. At least she wasn't next to Regine.

3

Teddy stared at Adrian Waters. He had affirmed everything Lily had said, verifying her account. Adrian looked confused, but took it all in anyway. Harry sat next to Teddy, staring at him. Ginny was in the other room with the girls.

"Can you get Lily, Harry?" Adrian asked, taking two vials out of his coat pocket.

Harry nodded and stood up. Teddy just watched Adrian as he took out his wand and put it in front of him with the vials. Lily and Ginny both came in the room. Harry resumed his seat next to Teddy, Lily sat on his other side, and then Ginny.

"I need to ask you two something -- Teddy, Lily -- and I know you might be apprehensive. But here's the thing; we're suspecting dark wizards behind the attack on Albus."

"So it was an attack," Teddy confirmed.

"We don't know yet."

"Don't say anything too leading, Adrian, Teddy will pick up on it," Harry muttered.

"I can see that. Both of you have very detailed accounts, but they're inconsistent. Lily obviously saw something Teddy didn't, and it makes me suspicious. What I want from you two, is your memory of the event."

"No," Ginny said firmly.

"Ginny, let the man talk," Harry said.

"We have no way of verifying either claim without the memories. They can be analyzed by some of our top Aurors. Maybe we can get something out of it you didn't."

Teddy could hear Ginny shifting on the other side of Lily.

"No," Ginny said again. "Lily is too young."

"Look, I have theories about what it was that Lily saw. But without her memories and her perspective, we cannot determine what it really was." Adrian was getting angry, his face slightly red, his voice slightly dipping into a baritone.

"I will not allow my daughter to be used by the ministry," Ginny said.

"Harry, please talk to your wife," Adrian said.

"No," he said. "I agree with her. Lily's too young to get involved. Teddy's fair game, but his memories won't be worth anything without Lily's. Ginny's aim may be off, but her intentions are good. I don't want to drag my daughter into this before she's ready. She's too young to deal with it."

"Drag me into what?" Lily said.

"You're special, Lily," Harry said. "Special in a way I never was. You can see things that are invisible to the rest of us. And someday, when you're old enough, you'll be able to use those abilities for the betterment of the wizarding world."

"I can't see anything weird," Lily refused.

"You saw a trail," Adrian said. "Teddy did not see a trail."

Teddy stared at Adrian. He was asking for his memory. Teddy would give it willingly, without any hesitation. But his would be worthless without Lily's. Hers would be worthless without his. It was a partnership. And Ginny wouldn't sign the consent form.

"We need Lily's memory," Adrian said.

"You can have mine," Teddy said.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but its worthless without Lily's." Teddy looked at Adrian. Adrian nodded solemnly.

"If Lily consents, you can have her memory," Harry said.

"Harry!" Ginny shouted. "How can you let him?"

"Ginny, calm down. This is bigger than us. It's about stopping whoever needs to be stopped."

"How do we know Lily won't be dragged into this, too?"

"We don't."

"How can you take that risk?"

"If this concerns what I think it concerns, then our children have been a large part of it since their conception."

Teddy stared at Harry, silent. Was he suggesting that somehow Voldemort had returned again?

"He...he can't," Ginny stuttered, staring at Harry.

"Of course it isn't You-Know-Who," Adrian said firmly. "It is probably a misunderstanding or a misguided follower of his that wants revenge. But we don't know. That's why we need your memory, Lily."

"You can have it," Lily said.

"Lily..." Ginny said softly.

"It's valuable to you," Lily continued, "and you need it to catch whoever it was that hurt Al. I'll do whatever I can."

"Harry?" Adrian asked.

Harry nodded.

"I'm proud of you, Lily," Harry muttered, wrapping his arm around his daughter.

Ginny got up and left the room, the scraping of the chair cutting through Teddy like a knife. Something monumental was happening here. He just wasn't sure what it was.

3

Lily sat and stared at Teddy. He was going to have his memory removed first. He sat in the chair, his eyes closed, concentrating on the event. Mr. Waters brought the tip of his wand to Teddy's temple, waited a moment, and slowly drew it away. Attached to the tip of his wand was what appeared to be a single silver thread, thin and wispy with no discernible beginning or end.

"Is it the right one?" Teddy asked, opening his eyes. He looked a little dazed, but otherwise ok. Mr. Waters let the memory slide into one of the vials.

"It is," Mr. Waters confirmed, gently prodding it with his wand. "Lily, it's your turn."

Nodding, Lily stood up from her chair and sat in the one next to Teddy. She was ready to do this. She would do anything to help Al. After all, it was her fault he was at St. Mungo's in the first place.

"Listen to me, this is very important," her dad said, kneeling in front of her.

She could see his scar on his forehead. Would she have a scar when this was all over? She glanced at Teddy. He didn't have a scar.

"Look at me, Lily," her dad said.

She looked him in the eye.

"I want you to close your eyes and think of the memory. Do you see it? The stairs, the fields, the snakes, the trail, Al, everything. Do you have it?"

"Yes," she muttered.

"I want you to imagine all of that rolled into a string. Can you do that? Like a piece of yarn. Ok?"

Lily furrowed her brow. All of it in one string? She wasn't sure if it was possible. She imagined all of it rolled together, spun together. She remembered her thoughts, her actions, the dream, everything, and put all of it in the thread.

"Now when Mr. Waters puts his wand to your head, I want you to imagine it as a giant needle and thread the memory string through it, ok? Can you do that?"

"I think so," Lily said, struggling not to loose the memory from its packaging.

She felt the soft pressure of his wand and stuck the end of her memory string to it. Slowly, she felt him pull away, the memory string going with it. It felt like he was actually pulling a thread out of her flesh, but it didn't hurt at all. It just felt a little weird.

"Do you have it?" Lily asked, opening her eyes.

There was a long, long strand of silver hanging from the end of Mr. Water's wand.

"Do you feel ok?" her dad asked, putting his cool hand against her face.

"My head is a little dizzy."

"What's your name?"

"Lily Luna Potter. I'm not an idiot."

"I'm making sure you're memory isn't messed up. Where do you live?"

"The Burrow, dad, come on, I'm fine."

"You look like you're going to vomit."

"Dad, really, I'm fine."

Lily's vision blurred for a second, but quickly refocused.

"Is it normal for that to happen, Adrian?" her dad stood up and faced Mr. Waters.

"First time memory extraction? Yeah. Besides, I think she gave us more to work with than we expected."

Lily looked at the two vials. Hers was much fuller than Teddy's.

"Is that bad?" she asked, pointing to the vials.

"I don't think so," Mr. Waters said. "It seems all the information here is related to the event. Don't worry. And you can tell Ginny we'll have both of them back as soon as they're finished being processed."

"Thank you, Adrian," Harry said.

"Yep." Mr. Waters tucked the vials in his jacket and disapparated.

"Teddy, are you ok?" Harry asked

Lily looked over at Teddy. He looked worse than he had when he had been before. Sleeplessness and memory extraction did not look like it was a pleasant combination.

"I just need sleep," Teddy muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Alright, then get to sleep. You look worse than when James ate the Ton Tongue Toffee without realizing it," Harry said. "Lily, I think Kelsie is still in the living room."

"Ok!" Lily slid off the chair and ran into the other room.

3

James stared at Al, prostrate on the bed. His younger brother, one of two people he was supposed to protect, was lying on the bed, unconscious. Lily stood next to him, her eyes on the ground. Their mum and dad were on Al's other side, sitting down.

"Why don't you two sit?" their dad said.

"I don't want to," Lily muttered.

"Me neither," James said.

How could he let this happen? How could he let his brother get injured?

"Are you guys ready to go back to school?" their mum asked.

"Is Al going to be able to come?" Lily asked.

"Not right away," their dad replied, "but he'll be there as soon as he can."

"Have they figured out what's wrong with him?" James asked.

"They still aren't sure," their dad said.

"Are there going to be any long term effects?"

"You guys know the big questions, don't you?" their dad said.

"'Course they do; they're your children," their mum muttered. "I'm sorry."

She stood up and left the room.

"Dad, tell us," Lily said.

James looked at her, wondering why she wanted to know so bad. There was no reason for her to worry over him; it wasn't her place. It was his as oldest. But she wouldn't understand that. She wouldn't understand any of it. She shouldn't have to understand it, either. If he had done his job, none of this would have happened. If he had woken up or paid more attention, Al wouldn't be here, wasting away the last days of vacation instead of embracing them with the vivacity of a new fourth-year.

"Something's wrong," James said. "What is it?"

He steeled himself against the worse. Al was going to die. Al was going to be brain dead. Al was never going to wake up. Al was going to only have a few more years. Whatever his father said in the next two seconds was going to spell out the rest of Al's life, the rest of their relationship, the relationship of the family.

"He's..."

"Going to die?" Lily whispered.

"No...no not at all. They think he'll live."

"Think?" James said.

"They know he'll live, but his leg is...well, its dieing."

"His leg is dieing?" Lily asked.

James stared at his father. Did this mean the rest of him would die, too? Slowly but surely, he would deteriorate into dirt, into ash, until there was nothing left of him?

"The healers want to chop it off before it deteriorates too much and they need to take more," their dad said.

"So he'll live?"

Their dad bowed his head, looking at Al. James waited for an answer. If there was one thing he wanted, it was this. If there was one thing he would give his life for, it would be that Al could live...that he would live.

"We don't know, yet."

"How can you not know?" Lily demanded. "How can you not know if your own son is going to die?"

"Lily, calm down."

"No! I'm not going to calm down! He's lying there, on his bed, dieing, and you want to cut off his leg to prevent further deterioration. You want to cripple him in hopes that he'll live! Don't you know the risks? Don't you know if it'll work?"

"Lily," James said softly. "There are some things we can't change."

Lily turned her head and looked at him, tears welling up behind her eyes.

"Sometimes," James continued, "sometimes we need to accept what fate hands us. And we need to be strong for Al. Fate has been crueler to him than to any of us."

The clock ticked noisily overhead.

3

"Are you guys ready? We were supposed to be at the cottage already!" Teddy yelled up the stairs. Damn. These guys took forever.

"I don't want to go," James said, coming down the stairs. He was still in his pajamas.

"James -- it's the annual Weasley cookout. You don't have a choice."

"Mum and Dad aren't going."

"James!" Teddy snapped. "Go get your damned clothes on!"

Teddy lifted him up and threw him back up the stairs. Even though he had been growing all summer, James still wasn't a match for Teddy.

"I don't want to go, Ted!"

"You're going! I'll apparate you there myself, if I have to!"

"But Al's coming home today!"

"Your parents want you to go to the cookout. Come on!"

"No!"

"James!"

"Teddy!"

Why did this kid have to be so difficult? He grabbed James by the middle and held him there.

"Kelsie! Lily! Hurry up!" Teddy shouted.

The pair of them ran down the stairs, each of them with a bag and each of them ready for a day on the beach. Is this why they took so long?

"Are we going floo?" Lily asked.

"Yep."

Lily led the way to the kitchen and took a pinch of powder from the floo jar and threw it in the fire.

"Let James go first," Teddy said, throwing James into the fire.

"Shell Cottage," James said. He was whisked away up the chimney. Kelsie went next,

quickly followed by Lily. Teddy just apparated. He hated traveling by floo powder.

3

Vicky sat down next to Teddy on the edge of the cliff, looking out over the ocean and Uncle Ron stumbling around with his brothers, trying to light the fireworks. She wasn't sure what the problem was; it was obvious that their lighting mechanism was slightly off. Uncle Charlie and Bill came back up the cliff.

"Do you think they're going to succeed with that?" Teddy whispered in her ear.

"Of course," she said. "Uncle Percy is down there, isn't he? He tends to solve their problems."

He put her arm around her. In the cool night air, she more than welcomed it. In fact, she leaned into his embrace. It felt comfortable, normal, and wonderful. It was as if the past year had never happened.

"I wish I could go back to Hogwarts with you," Teddy said.

"Do you?"

"Mmm...Auror training isn't nearly as taxing as trying to juggle all my responsibilities was last year."

"It's going to be weird without you."

"You'll manage."

"I never said I wouldn't."

Vicky could hear her French cousins causing a ruckus with Eustace, who was struggling to figure out what they were talking about. Kelsie and Lily were flying around on brooms, Aunt Audrey yelling at them to be careful. Georgie and Fred were down with her uncles, trying to figure out what was wrong. If Uncle Percy couldn't figure it out, they definitely could.

The first of the fireworks spewed into the sky. Teddy tightened his grip on Vicky, both of them taking in the colorful sights. Vicky could hear her various cousins gasping and crying out in amazement. She grinned and slid closer to Teddy.

This was it -- the end of vacation.

333


End file.
